Who Benefits from Un(der)paid Internships?

Creative Commons, Photo by Goldmund100

[TL;DR: Internsheep opposes all unpaid and underpaid internships as they represent barriers to entry in highly competitive fields based solely on economic means, having drastic effects on workforce compilation and accessibility to opportunity in many areas. In some sense, the quality of the internship  program is therefore of little interest and the question of who benefits from these positions is a moot point. However, illustrating to just what extent interns are being exploited would nonetheless help build the case for the overarching goals of this campaign. To that end, we propose a research study using a Canadian company that has employed over 40 unpaid interns for varying tenures from the year beginning May 1st, 2010 and ending April 30th, 2011 using a cost-benefit analysis for the interns and the employer.]

Internsheep recently took part in a debate hosted by the Globe and Mail on youth unemployment. The specific question up for debate surrounded what government role should be played in addressing what is fast becoming a crisis situation.

Many suggestions were offered, we got a bit off topic at times, and the problem of unpaid internships arose as a concern for several participants. One dissenting opinion came from Lauren Friese, the founder of TalentEgg.ca, a career portal for students and recent grads in Canada. I wrote up the debate and inserted a comment in the interest of full disclosure that TalentEgg uses and promotes unpaid interns, of which I have first-hand knowledge because I was an unpaid intern as an editor and writer for the site’s e-magazine. TalentEgg responded in the comments section, and I promised to respond more fully to their concerns in a full post. 

University Complicity in the Unpaid Racket

Today on Doorey’s Law Blog is a guest post by lawyer Andrew Langille on the topic: Generation Free: Are universities perpetuating inequality by promoting unpaid, precarious work? 

I commend the faculty and researchers of York for being willing to call out their institution on this issue. By posting unpaid internships, Internsheep believes that universities legitimize these roles as a necessary step for launching a career, while ignoring the barriers this system poses. We are in the midst of a paradigm shift in labour and universities have the potential to lead positive change in this area.

Internsheep believes that higher education institutions have a duty to protect their students and graduates from exploitative, illegal, and inaccessible opportunities. Unpaid positions that fall outside the scope of for-credit-co-ops should not be posted on university job boards. Further, universities are encouraged to adopt a policy of best practices for internships. Such codes have been put forward in theUKand could easily be adapted for the Canadian context.

Below is the last email I sent to Yorkoutlining more specific concerns with their listings and encouraging them to adopt a policy that actually addresses the rise in unpaid, exploitative positions. The email was sent September 14^th and to date no acknowledgement or response has been received.

Hi [York],

I appreciate your response.

 

While I agree that York students and graduates need to build career-related skills, the proliferation of unpaid work is worrying. A York scholar at Osgoode has recently conducted research on unpaid internships in Canada and has called the legality of many of these arrangements into question. This work hit the media earlier this summer.

Specifically, York listed positions from for-profit companies like RBC Financial and Sony Music. Justifying the unpaid nature of these positions in a legal context would be difficult, as direct financial benefit will be afforded the employer by these interns. Under the ESA, unpaid internships must provide training similar to that at a vocational school and the benefit must be to the intern, not the employer.

 

In addition to the legal dimension, these unpaid positions will inevitably only be accessible to those that can afford to work for free, creating a two-tiered entry-level system where the highly competitive positions are only for those of high socio-economic means.

 

Is York willing to assess these issues further? A voluntary code of best practice has been developed in the UK for internships, which could easily be adapted for the Canadian context. Adopting a policy that more specifically addresses the concerns posed by unpaid internships and misapplied volunteerships would ensure that quality, meaningful, and accessible opportunities are presented to York students and grads.

 

I’d very much be interested in York’s response to these concerns. Let me know if you require any additional information. Thanks again,

 

Carley

Welcome to Internsheep!

Internsheep aims to be a one-stop shop for information about unpaid internships in Canada. We believe that the language in our provincial Employment Standards is  too vague when it comes to internships and those excluded from the definition of an ‘employee,’ and we believe it is vital to address this to protect the rights of young workers, and to build strong communities and economies.

Internsheep recognizes that under the current system, internships are easily and illegally exploiting young workers, which has negative impacts on:

• The job seeker: Some are locked out of opportunities simply because they cannot afford to work for free.
• The intern: Without ’employee’ status, interns might not receive protections on the job that other workers do. Starting a family or buying a house is delayed due to stints of working with no compensation.
• The employer: Employers risk lawsuits if they do not meet their legal obligations and employ an ‘intern’ that is actually acting as an ’employee’. The talent pool is limited to those that can afford to work for free.
• The community: Taking advantage of unpaid interns devalues work. Young workers with higher than ever debt loads are working for free, and are unable to contribute to the economy.

Internsheep wants:

• To facilitate the collection of data and create awareness on the status of internships in Canada
• To develop and promote a universal code of best practices for internships in Canada and to encourage employers to adopt these practices
• To clarify the language of Employment Standards legislation to reflect the reality of the potential for exploitation under the current system and to strengthen enforcement and oversight mechanisms.

For more on how Internsheep plans to accomplish this and how you can help, see the Actions tab.