Prisoners Keep Government in the Black – Berto

Prisoners Keep Government in the Black

Convicted inmates behind bars in various countries are often required to work for nothing or for pennies at menial tasks. Many have noted that by so doing, governments have entered into business, using no-cost labor.

Then came news that India’s Save Print Cost Technologies (SPC Tech) had established a new career opportunity for Tihar jail inmates. Professional trainers have taught prisoners how to remanufacture copier and printer cartridges for the Indian market.

The refurbished cartridges will be sold to various government departments and private customers through existing and soon to be developed channels. The government is said to be looking for a cheaper solution for the thousands of printer cartridges it uses. And now they may have found the solution.

As Berto puts it in this month’s cartoon, cartridges remanufactured by the prisoners could help keep the government ledgers in the black. Having to deal with all the toner floating around during the process, it may very well keep the prisoners “in the black” too!

Tihar Jail—also called Tihar Prisons and Tihar Ashram—is the largest complex of prisons in South Asia with a total population of around 12,000 convicts at any given time.

Of course many are unhappy about cartridge refilling and remanufacturing in India. Hewlett-Packard India is squarely taking on the printer-ink refilling industry with a combination of easily available and cheap cartridges and an awareness campaign, detailing the negative effects of refilling.

Berto #11: January 5, 2014, Prisoners Keep Government in the Black

Last month’s Berto cartoon: Poor Quality Printed Report – Berto goes back to school

Who is Berto? And where can you can see more of his work?  Click here.