Higher Seminar in Labour Law: Work like any other but like no other: Labour rights for working prisoners in Sweden

Description

Petra Herzfeld Olsson, Professor of labour law, Stockholm University
Sigrid Nikka, Doctoral student in criminal law, Lund University

Incarcerated workers earn SEK 13 an hour in Sweden. They are not categorised as workers, however, and therefore are not covered by labour law or collective agreements. But the products of their work – goods and services – are either sold on the open market or used for the benefit of the Swedish Agency for Prisons and the Probation Service, as the services or goods do not have to be bought on the open market. Such low pay would be considered unreasonable for any other work. However, work has been a central aspect of serving time in Swedish prisons for a very long time. Over time, such work has been motivated and governed by different principles and aims, such as the work-first principle, meaning, i.e., that work is both a societal duty and a right, and the aim of disciplining the incarcerated workers for internal and external purposes (resocialisation). The rehabilitative aspect of work has been emphasised. Proposals to raise the pay level have been rejected as being too expensive and counteracting the rehabilitative function of serving time in prison. In this talk I will explain the perceived rationale behind this state of affairs and ask if the situation is compatible with the requirements of dignity set out in Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

Suggested reading: https://doi.org/10.1177/20319525241266351

Petra Herzfeld Olsson, Professor of labour law at Stockholm University, will give a talk, followed by comments by Sigrid Nikka, Doctoral student in criminal Law, Lund University.

Period	2025 Apr 10
Held at	Department of Law
Degree of Recognition	International