Salary, severance pay and paid sicknesses: about forty inmates churns out seven million pieces a year The project curated by the Sviluppo & Lavoro cooperative, commissioned by local companies
BELLUNO. The penalties must aim at the re-education of the offender. The principle, sanctioned by the Constitution, has been transformed in the Belluno prison into a laboratory that employs about forty inmates. In the “factory”, set up in the premises of the city prison, the inmates manufacture cases for glasses, cloths to clean the lenses, and carry out assemblies of plastic components. A real job, with hours and salary, which allows prisoners to build a second chance through an occupation that engages them every day.
Recently, the project, which is carried out by the Cooperative Sviluppo & Lavoro, was selected among the twenty candidates for the national Angelo Ferro award for innovation in the social economy and, although it was not in the five awarded, its value was recognized during the closing ceremony.
THE GENESIS
The project began in 2015, says the president of the cooperative, Gianfranco Borgato: “We started by renovating the premises inside the prison to use them as a laboratory,” he explains. “It was the inmates themselves who took care of this activity.” Once the rooms were set up, it was decided to “fill them” with a project that led to the creation of a real factory in prison.
“The inmates carry out assembly work on plastic components, make cases for glasses, pack the cloths to clean the lenses,” continues Borgato. Simple processing, but which requires attention and dexterity. «For this activity they take a salary, they have severance pay, paid sickness. It’s like being in the company ».
HOME RELOCATION
There are about forty prisoners who adhere to the project, and who carry out the work on behalf of companies in the area. And there are two equipped wards in the prison where the inmates work, with specific machinery such as printers, necessary to make cloths for eyeglass lenses.
About seven thousand pieces were produced last year, with production returning to Veneto from Romania, where it had been relocated.
SECOND OPPORTUNITY
The workers are followed by specialized staff of the cooperative and by the Borgato itself, and the choice to join the project or not is voluntary. “There is great enthusiasm on the part of the boys,” reports Borgato. “Work for them is life, and in addition to being a way to occupy their days, it is also a first step towards reintegration into the social and productive fabric”.
“While working, the children have rhythms similar to those of a normal life”, continues the president of the cooperative. “And they can build a second or third chance.” Someone, in fact, finds a job once they have served their sentence, thanks to the professionalism acquired in prison.
But the Development & Work activity does not stop there. The cooperative also takes care of people subjected to alternative measures (such as semi-liberty) by employing them in a company in Paludi, in Alpago, which operates in the construction sector. “We are always ready to develop the projects that we carry out in the prison with the support of the management”, concludes Borgato. “If there is a way to expand the initiative, we will take action.”