DISCRIMINATION IN EMPLOYMENT ON THE
BASIS OF CRIMINAL
RECORD
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Submission No. 21 - Justice Action (JA)
65
Bellevue Street Glebe NSW 2037
PO Box 386 Broadway, NSW 2007,
AUSTRALIA
Ph: 612 9660 9111 Fax: 612 9660 9100
JA@justiceaction.org.au
www.justiceaction.org.au
Submission for Discussion Paper Discrimination in Employment on the Basis of Criminal Record
Justice Action (JA) submits that the Department of Corrective Services (DCS) and the Corrective Services Industries (CSI) need to take a larger role and cooperate in tackling employment discrimination.
1. Expungement of criminal records.
Justice Action submits that criminal records should be expunged upon completion of a prison sentence, particularly in the case of juveniles. One exception is that listed below, when ex-prisoners are employed as professional mentors to serving prisoners, or released prisoners.
2. Listing CSI employment.
CSI is a private company contracted to link industries with prisoner labour. The stated purpose of this arrangement is to give work skills to prisoners to help them survive without re-offending when they are released. The industries which use prisoner labour benefit by receiving labour at significantly reduced wages. JA believes that there should be an obligation on the part of industries which use prisoner labour to employ the prisoners when they are released from custody.
JA submits that such employment, both inside and out of prison, should be allowed to be listed on the CV of an ex-prisoner as normal employment, and that industries which contract with CSI should be prohibited from disclosing the fact that the employment was gained through CSI. In this way, ex-prisoners can present a complete CV to potential employers without the need to lie, or omit prison employment from their CV.
This would not prevent the employer from giving a reference based on the performance of the employee on the job. Therefore the ex-prisoner has the opportunity to prove their skills and abilities in practice, and be judged by their current efforts, rather than past mistakes.
Currently, employment is inconsistent and sporadic. Justice Action submits that employment should be considered part of case management, and programs developed which give consistency to the work, and with the view to providing a complete CV upon release.
The Labor Council of NSW has recently adopted a policy on prisoner labour. In that policy it states,
The establishment of the Corrective Services Industry Consultative Council (C.I.C.C.) which is made up of Union, Employer and Community representatives is an appropriate body to monitor C.S.I. work to ensure Australian employers and local jobs are not put at risk by C.S.I. activities. In particular, Labor Council also believes the C.I.C.C. needs to play a greater role in monitoring vocational training and using its influence where possible to assist inmates find employment upon release. Where private for profit organisations utilise the services of prison labour C.S.I. should wherever possible insist that such organisations have a scheme in place to employ inmates upon release where they have positions available and where the prisoner concerned has demonstrated the skills and ability to carry out the work required.
Click here to access a copy of that document.
3. Mentoring
One of the most important skills gained in prison is how to survive in a prison environment. Upon release, prisoners must then learn how to survive outside the prison environment. These skills are extremely valuable and can be taught to other prisoners both pre- and post-release.
Currently, DCS refuse to allow ex-prisoners in to prisons to mentor current prisoners precisely because of their criminal record. However, with supervision, these mentors can greatly assist governments in post-release programs because of their personal experience.
This is one instance where the criminal record should not only not be expunged, but be accepted as a valuable credential in the fight against re-offending by state and local governments. Justice Action submits that ex-prisoners should be either employed, or given credit on work-for-the-dole programs should they choose to assist serving prisoners with their post-release preparations.
End of submission
Stacy Scheff
Coordinator
April 19, 2005