Ban Unpaid Internships | The Open Letter
Introduction
Groups of people who work together in society and organisations that represent workers have come together to sign a letter asking the European Commission to support a strong plan to ban unpaid internships and make sure they are good quality.
They want interns to be paid fairly, enough to cover their living expenses.
Young people worry about securing a paying job. However, many find themselves in precarious positions, such as unpaid internships or low-paying jobs. Approximately one out of every four young people could fall into poverty or social exclusion.
Those at risk of poverty have to spend way more of their money on housing, sometimes as much as 40% of their income, compared to others their age who aren’t struggling as much.
Read on to find out what are the proposals to solve this problem and the new EU directives to ban unpaid internships!
What are the effects of unpaid internship?
Every year, approximately 3.7 million young people engage in a traineeship as their first professional experience.
Research conducted by the European Youth Forum reveals that it costs a young unpaid intern an average of 1000 EUR to work for free in Europe.
The Commission’s 2023 Eurobarometer on transitions to the labor market demonstrated that the majority of young people have completed at least two traineeships, with only half of the respondents receiving financial compensation.
Unpaid internships risk displacing entry-level jobs and unjustly excluding those without the financial means to work for free.
Moreover, low-quality internships fail to produce any benefits for young individuals or employers.
Unpaid internships are a way of taking advantage of and leaving people out of society. It’s tough for to begin working when they’re dealing with money problems, feeling mentally worn out, and burnt out.
The proposal
The open letter has as the main object to give a proposal for a new EU Directive.
This proposal should support good conditions for traineeships and include things like:
- Paying trainees at least the minimum wage or the agreed amount from unions;
- Having fair and clear ways to pick trainees;
- Using a written agreement that’s registered with the right authorities;
- Making sure trainees have social security;
- Giving trainees a mentor they can talk to regularly;
- Creating a welcoming work environment for all kinds of young people, including those with disabilities, young women, non-binary people, and people of different races;
- Making sure there aren’t too many interns compared to regular staff, with breaks between hiring new interns;
- Offering bonuses to companies that hire their interns full-time.
Do you want to know more?
If you want to deepen this theme and read the open letter, visit the official website.
Read also
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European Year of Youth 2022 | Communication from the EU Commission