The prisoners are paid $2 an hour and the company charges $9 for the work. Picture: Thinkstock Source: Supplied
A CONVICT call centre is using prisoners to collect Australians' personal details. Inmates are paid $2 an hour to update databases for private companies, in the behind-bars business.
The NSW Government owned Corrective Services Industries (CSI) employs 150 prisoners a year in the call centre, at Dillwynia jail, near Windsor west of Sydney.
Businesses provide the phone numbers of customers and contacts, so prisoners can phone them to check the addresses, phone and fax numbers and email details are up-to-date.
Inmates also call clients to remind them of events and appointments.
CSI, which made of a profit of $24 million last financial year, also uses prison workers to clean headsets for Qantas and repair appliances for Breville.
CSI executive director Steve Thorpe yesterday said prisoners worked for about $2 an hour, but the company charges clients $9 an hour, due to rules banning jails from competing unfairly with rival firms.
Mr Thorpe said only women prisoners who had shown excellent behaviour in custody were allowed to work in the call centre.
Murderers "may or may not" be able to work in the call centre, he said, depending on how long ago they committed the crime and whether they had been rehabilitated in custody.
"You don't want people who've committed horrendous crimes talking to the public," he said.
"You could have a murderer and that might have happened many, many, many years ago and the issue of violent behaviour has been addressed in prison.
"That person may or may not be able to attend the call centre."
Mr Thorpe said the prisoners' crimes included "larceny and knocking stuff off from shopping centres".
The prisoners are electronically assigned phone numbers to dial by an automated system and while they can enter and see people's data they are unable to access any other information from the system.
They are also not allowed to take data away from the centre in any form.
Mr Thorpe said the workers could only dial the numbers assigned to them, and were closely supervised.
"There are no credit cards, no money, no selling," he said.
Mr Thorpe said jail labour was "not as efficient as in the real world", as prisoners did not work eight hours a day.
"You've got urine analysis that must take place, search days, or violence can occur and you have to lock everything down," he said.
"They might have to spend two hours a day at a sex offender's program."
A Qantas spokesman said the airline had used CSI to clean headsets in Sydney since 2010.
"We've always been happy with the work they've done for us," he said.
Breville Australia general manager Jeremy Sargeant yesterday said prisoners carried out "fault analysis" and "minor refurbishment of products to have them resold as reworked product through factory outlets".
Mr Thorpe said former clients included internet cable manufacturer CommScope, Cumberland Newspapers, and T-shirt manufacturer Bilprau, which had since folded.
CSI is targeting Australian companies that would otherwise send work offshore.
"You won't have to abandon plans or go offshore," it says in a brochure. "Forget the clichés - rock-breaking is done at the controls of complex machinery."
Inmates also operate a Gloria Jeans coffee shop in the same medium-security jail.
CELL-PHONE CALL CENTRE:
- Run by NSW Government-owned Corrective Services Industries
- Based at Dillwynia jail, west of Sydney
- Employs 150 women inmates each year
- Prisoners are paid $2 an hour
- Company charges clients $9 an hour
- Provides "a quality endorsed total service solution in telemarketing"
- CSI turned over $72m in sales last financial year
- Company made $24m profit
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