- 51 106. In all the prisons visited, there was an official list of the number of employment posts that existed, whether or not there was any work available. Obtaining a post was critical for every prisoner as work was the means by which to reduce one’s time in prison. The most prized jobs were those such as electrician, plumber or working in the kitchen, which not only provided purposeful work but also resulted in one day of remission for every day worked. Other jobs such as a cleaner provided for 23 days remission for every month worked (even though the job concerned often only required an hour or less of work per day). In general, the information gathered indicated that work was in essence a remission scheme rather than a means by which to engage prisoners in a purposeful activity or to form part of a personal development plan or preparation for release. 107. At Patras Prison, for example, there were some 296 jobs77 available (for more than 700 sentenced prisoners), including 44 kitchen staff, 18 bakers, 24 canteen workers and 101 cleaners, as well as a number of skilled posts linked to the maintenance of the prison such as plumbers, metal workers and electricians. In general, prisoners had to wait three to four months to obtain work after applying for a job and work was allocated on a ‘first come first serve’ basis without any assessment of a prisoner’s needs. The prisoners allocated to the more skilled positions and the kitchen staff generally kept their jobs, once appointed, until they left the prison, while the other positions were rotated on a six-month basis. A prisoner could also lose his job due to a court appearance or other temporary absence. Managers confirmed that this was a convenient way of sharing out the limited number of work posts. If found guilty of a disciplinary offence, a prisoner could not only lose his job but be barred from any further employment for a period of 6 to 24 months. For this reason, a number of prisoners met by the delegation spoke of being given a two-year “additional sentence” for a disciplinary offence. At Amfissa Prison, 100 inmates (i.e. less than half the inmate population) were officially assigned work, most of whom in reality did little or nothing; a similar situation prevailed at Chios Prison, where 41 jobs were provided for more than 150 prisoners. On the other hand, it should be noted that those prisoners occupying skilled positions carried out essential work for the continued day to day functioning of the prison concerned. In each of the prisons visited, it was an inmate who managed the kitchen, overseeing the work of other prisoners and taking responsibility for the menu and ordering of supplies. Likewise, the essential maintenance work in the prisons was carried out by prisoners, and in some cases even certain administrative functions were under the responsibility of prisoners. In Amfissa Prison, the longest serving prisoner had been led to believe that his requests for transfer had been denied because the administrative tasks he carried out, notably as chief store man, were considered essential to the running of the prison. For the vast majority of prisoners there was absolutely nothing with which to occupy their days other than watching television and walking in the yards. None of the prisons visited had any sort of organised sports activities or gyms. Instead prisoners manufactured makeshift weights from empty water bottles tied together and filled with sand or tap water. Organised team sports were not in evidence in any prison. 77 The number of jobs offered in each prison was decided centrally by the Ministry of Justice in Athens and could not be altered by the prison management regardless of the opportunities, or lack thereof, for employment.