MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Inmates in the German Butzbach prison have gone on a hunger strike over compulsory low-paid labor, the prison workers’ organization said on Thursday.
The Butzbach protesters are asking for payment at the national minimum wage, which is currently about 8.50 euros per hour ($9.20), as well as pension contributions and the right to freely form trade unions, the Prisoners’ Union- National Organization (GG-BO) wrote on Facebook.
At present, German prisoners earn 1.5 euros per hour ($1.60), on average.
The GG-BO association was set up in May 2014 by a Berlin prison detainee, Oliver Rast.
According to the German Federal Statistical Office, the country has a prison population of nearly 63,630, including pre-trial detainees and those on remand.
