Lahore: The Punjab Home Department has introduced a uniform labor scale for prisoners’ work in the province’s jails.
According to the Punjab Home Department spokesperson, the absence of a uniform labor scale had hindered the efficient functioning of industries established within the jails.
According to the Pakistan Prisons Rules 1978, a prisoner working in jail is required to perform a minimum of work equivalent to that of a free laborer.
The uniform labor scale for jail industries has been prepared following a market survey.
Daily targets have been set for the production of carpets, boxes, iron cots, warders’ uniforms, and items such as bedding, blankets, coats, and cotton bands.
After one month of training, a prisoner will be able to produce 2 iron cots per day. After two months of training, 3 prisoners will be able to make 1 kit box per day.
A prisoner trained for one month will produce 25 feet of 2-inch wide cotton band per day, and another trained prisoner will make a 6 feet long and 2.5 feet wide mat per day.
After one month of training, a prisoner will produce 3 blankets measuring 7 feet long and 4.25 feet wide.
After two months of training, a prisoner will be able to sew 2 uniform suits per day and also knit 6 meters of uniform fabric.
Similarly, after three months of training, a prisoner will sew 3 shirts for warders in 2 days, and another prisoner will sew 3 pairs of warders’ pants in 2 days.
After one month of training, a prisoner will weave 12 strips of 2 feet wide carpet.
According to the new labor scale, prisoners who complete their labor will be eligible for legal remission of their sentences.
Jailers across Punjab have been instructed to ensure that prisoners’ labor aligns with the new uniform labor scale.
Previously, there was no established standard for the amount of work prisoners sentenced to hard labor should perform in a day, and without such a scale, it was challenging to treat all prisoners equitably.