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Row over prisoners at call centre
Kiko H Fan
Posts: 6,546 Forum Member
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This just came up on the Welsh News
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-19184054
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2012/aug/08/prisoners-call-centre-fired-staff
"Row over prisoners at call centre.
A row breaks out over prisoners being employed by a call centre, which a union claims is exploitation."
So, who's telling the truth?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-19184054
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2012/aug/08/prisoners-call-centre-fired-staff
"Row over prisoners at call centre.
A row breaks out over prisoners being employed by a call centre, which a union claims is exploitation."
So, who's telling the truth?
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The Prison Service has provided a comprehensive explanation of the procedure.
But a Prison Service spokesperson said: "Prison Service rules are very clear: prisoners employed by outside companies cannot replace existing staff. They can only fill genuinely vacant posts.
"Becoming Green have made it clear that the prisoners they employ are filling genuinely vacant posts and that no serving members of staff have been made redundant to make way for prisoners."
Continue reading the main story
“Start Quote
We work in partnership with HM Prison Services and comply fully to processes and procedures set out by government legislation”
Becoming Green
The service said the scheme employing workers at Becoming Green started in November 2011, when the company employed about 100 people.
In a statement it outlined:
The company employs more than 190 people, of which 23 are prisoners.
For the first 40 days, while training, prisoners are paid £15 a week food allowance.
After that, they are paid the minimum wage until released, but 40% of earnings go to a victims' fund.
If prisoners are given a job on release, they would get the standard pay rate which is about £8 an hour, the service said.
The spokesman added: "It is crucial that prisoners have the opportunity to learn transferable employment skills to reduce the chances of reoffending, and therefore turning them away from crime."
In other words, they get a £2 an hour saving for as many years as they want on staff.
The 'haven't taken anyone's job' line is also erroneous,with 3 million unemployed, they certainly have taken jobs that others could have done, obviously they would have wanted full pay though, and probably holidays and sick pay.
plus the staff they gotten rid of saw that it was down to the company wanting un-paid labour
Also, most people are rude when they phone up call centres.
They might not be so rude when they might think they are talking to Dave, who's about to be released from a 20 stretch for murder. Oh, and as you say, Dave's got their phone number and address too.
The important point is they are actually being paid, which sets this apart from the far worse Work Fare scheme which really is about exploiting the employed and unemployed on the cheap no matter how much the Government tries to pretend otherwise.
The figures here are peanuts compared with the 35,000+ IT workers brought in by the likes of Tata, Infosys and the other big Indian bodyshopping companies (some 80% of IT workers brought in under Tier 2 visas come from Indian companies) - They to are under the do not replace a British workers and I've heard them do exactly that, with the poor person being replaced being told to train the worker before being replaced :mad:
That said when a prisoner finishes their sentence they will need a job outside the criminal world - so it makes perfect sense for them to be given that opportunity.
If they don't work - outrageous!
If they work - outrageous!
If something else happens, tell me what it is and I'll say 'outrageous!'
I'd think it'd be easier to show prisoners they were being rehabilitated if they were being paid the normal market rate. Otherwise it just looks like they're being exploited.
A practice that should be stopped by law with massive financial penalties for those found to be involved in it.
This has happened to me. Twice.
What do you think proper punishment is? Working in a call-centre could be considered punishment.
Personally I think it should be forced education. Enter prison unable to read, write or do basic arithmetic, stay until you can. Longer sentences allow more time for more useful training. Prisoners may exit able to do more useful things than crime.
It's nothing to do with that at all.
What do you want? The lash?
If prisoners don't work people become outraged at that too. People like to moan for the sake of hearing their own voices.
Why are prisoners 'scum' ?
And what on earth do you mean by a 'proper punishment' ? Water boarding ? Death ?
Perhaps we should hang them all as soon as they're inside?
Or death by a thousand cuts maybe?
It is actually - but the change of law is about as much use as a chocolate fireguard - for a time Labour allowed this to happen to freelancers but said it was illegal for perm staff (hence the use of the word 'worker' and not 'employee') - they changed the rules just before the election - which was a bit late because by then they had managed to annoy a good chunk of the freelance working population.
Actually what would happen if one of these prisoners turned up on one of the customers doorsteps that they took a dislike to and beat them up or worse put a knife in them?
Are they?
If I want to be rude to a call center - I usually ask for the supervisor - it is not the fault of the poor person who answers that their employer has such great difficulty arranging a drunken party in a brewery.
(But then I have worked in a call center - never again)
Many call centres are now very resistance to put customers onto a supervisor so not to bother them, they tell you all sorts of rubbish and lies to avoid doing so, sometimes you will only get a supervisor if you really push for it.
And what would happen if one of these prisoners did turn up on one of the customers doorsteps because they had time on the phone to take a dislike to them, and beat them up or worse put a knife in them?
They'd get taken back to the call centre.. I mean prison I guess. Time added for bad behaviour and probably fined for losing a customer to.
Just be bloody minded. It works eventually.
I doubt seriously that they would put someone of was violent in such a situation. Further in the event that was to happen the prisoner would find himself back behind bars - and ending up with time added onto their time in gaol for the crime.
In addition it is likely that they would be doing this during their sentence which would mean being transported back to gaol after their shift - not exactly giving them a chance to visit some customer and do the deed is it.?
Answer this - how many people do you think are in our prisons because they turned to crime for the lack of an alternative? How many return to crime for the same reason - because people judge them for what they do and seem to forget that once they have served their time - they have paid their debt to society.
Prison has three jobs: To punish, to protect society and to rehabilitate. It is the third to which this is aimed - giving prisoners an experience that can mean they do have an alternative to a life of crime.
Your absolutely right to point this out and I agree with you on it ,but it just worries me that sooner or later one of those real loony types will slip through the net like they are so good at doing and hold a grudge to be settled when they are released next time.