Work is work, and it deserves compensation
Imagine graduating from your undergraduate degree, after four years of constant financial and academic stress. What are your next steps? With no relevant work experience or professional references, your future might not be as bright as you had imagined. Could an unpaid internship be your way to a successful career? It might, but it probably won’t be.
The story of David Hyde, a 22-year-old intern at the United Nations (UN), raises questions around the ethics of unpaid internships. Hyde was living in a tent in Geneva, as he was unable to afford housing while doing unpaid work for the UN. This story led to worldwide backlash, which highlighted the UN’s hypocrisy of not paying their interns while advocating that everyone who works has the right to remuneration with article 23 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
It’s now a common practice both in Canada and worldwide, for organizations to not pay their interns, claiming that benefits from the experience of working at the company will outweigh the financial losses incurred while doing unpaid work. The legality of unpaid internships is primarily determined at the provincial level, and each province has their own requirements. According to the Canadian Intern Association, unpaid internships are illegal in Ontario unless they’re part of a program approved by a college, university, or secondary school board, provide training for certain professions, or meet the conditions to be considered a trainee.
Unpaid interns currently make up about 10-20 per cent of the UN’s work force, and Hyde’s story has struck a chord with other interns, leading to protests and demonstrations being held by interns in the Geneva and New York headquarters last week.
A major problem with the practice of unpaid internships is that it can be abused by organizations to obtain free labour with no obligation to offer employment afterwards. Many students and recent graduates seek out internship opportunities as a stepping-stone to a career in their field—believing an internship can help get their foot in the door at a prestigious company or organization. Another issue with this system is that it only allows those on the higher end of the socioeconomic scale to work for major organizations. This is especially problematic when an organization’s mandate, like the UN, is to fight for the rights of the poorest and most disadvantaged.
As an organization that promotes international co-operation, a goal that requires at least some understanding of different socioeconomic situations, the UN puts their mission in a precarious state by only making internships attractive to upper-class citizens. A uniform employee make-up isn’t a good thing when the UN works to co-operate on a global scale—where the environment is anything but homogenous.
As both a student and an unpaid intern, I can say that unpaid internships are less than ideal. The unique experience and learning opportunity that internships offer doesn’t make up for the stress of a precarious financial situation.
It’s time to get rid of unpaid internships and acknowledge that work deserves pay. The federal government should take real action towards the immoral practice of unpaid internships, so those trying to break into the job market don’t need to choose between a full stomach and valuable work experience.
