The Corrections Department has pledged to eradicate forced labour in its prisons and pay a decent wage to inmates who opt to work, following an expose by the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
The reports into prison labour, published in December, found inmates at some Thai prisons were forced to make fishing nets for private companies under threat of punishment, including beatings and delayed release.
“Following criticism of Thai prisoners being forced to produce fishing nets for private companies… the Corrections Department will come up with measures to allow prisoners to work voluntarily,” the department said in a statement on Tuesday.
“The type of work has to be safe and must not cause harm towards prisoners.”
New committees will be formed to oversee reform in each of the country’s 143 jails, according to the statement, and set inmates’ pay in line with the minimum…
