Two German prisoners have won cases in the country's highest court, arguing that they were not being fairly paid for the work they did as inmates. They hail from Germany's two most populous states, North Rhine-Westphalia and Bavaria, their case opened early last year.
Most German prisoners serving criminal sentences are obliged to work, assuming they are fit to do so. The idea is to promote reintegration into society, and potentially to teach new skills that might be saleable on leaving jail.
But they also must be compensated for their work. Individual German states tend to have authority in such matters, not the federal government, so systems and payment rates can vary considerably.
The figures tend to be low on the basis that the inmates do not pay tax, their main expenses like food and board are covered, and because creating the jobs is not always a purely for-profit venture.
The presiding judge said that inmates in the two states were typically paid between 1.37 ($1.50) and 2.30 per hour. By comparison, Germany's minimum wage for most people is 12 per hour.
The court did not declare a fair rate of payment, saying this would be a decision for the legislature, but said such decisions should be made.
It laid out several options, including a much lower but tax-exempt "net" payment system or a more typically taxed form of payment at higher rates.
Doris König, who chaired the panel of judges,...
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