People in Australian prisons are also fighting fires

A huge chunk of the firefighters in Los Angeles are incarcerated people. In Australia, some people in prison are also helping to fight bushfires for about $7 a day.

Nearly a third of the firefighters battling wildfires in Los Angeles are incarcerated people working for well below the minimum wage.

The devastating Los Angeles wildfires have brought attention to the state’s practice of enlisting inmates to assist in firefighting duties as part of their incarceration, to earn small amounts of money and to have time shaved off their sentences.

It has also shone a spotlight on the wider prison services industries and the extremely low rates of pay for people working while in prison, including in Australia.

In LA, there are nearly 1000 incarcerated people working as firefighters and earning between $9.40 and $16.60 per day along with $1.60 per hour if they are actively fighting a fire. This is far below the US minimum wage, which is about $11.65 per hour.

This is facilitated by the US Constitution having a carve-out in the 13th amendment to allow for slavery “as punishment for a crime”.

Some of those incarcerated in Australian prisons are also working to assist firefighting efforts for very low rates of pay.

Late last year, some individuals incarcerated in Western Australia minimum security facilities joined firefighting efforts in the state by working to reload planes.

The inmates were trained to keep water bombers in the air and help firefighters to battle fires.

It’s part of a deal between the WA Department of Justice and Parks and Wildlife Service from the Department of Biodiversity Conservation and Attractions which sees people incarcerated at Bunbury Regional Prison and Karnet Prison working at the Dunsborough Airstrip to reload planes with water and fire-retardant foam.

A press release by the state government describes this as “gruelling work”, with workers constantly loading up to six aircraft operating out of the airstrip at the same time during a significant bushfire event.

In Western Australia, pay rates for people in prison range from $11 to $35 per week. This equates to between $2.20 and $7 per day for the “gruelling work” reloading planes to assist with firefighting.