Overworked and unpaid

It’s time to ante up, employers.
On October 3, the new Global Labour Research Centre at York held an education panel for unpaid internships and work in Canada.
Four speakers, Nicole Cohen, Andrew Langille, Katherine Lapointe, and Sean Smith, all from different professional backgrounds presented at Vari Hall. The purpose of the event was to educate students and teachers alike on the growing problem and exploitative nature of many unpaid internships and jobs. In many cases, young workers coming out of post-secondary education are encouraged to take on unpaid employment as a way to receive training, get experience, or make connections in the industry.
However, these internships end up being a source of free labour. Andrew Langille, a Toronto-based labour lawyer began the panel by talking about the recent growth of “intern culture” in the past few years. He mentions that over time, internships and unpaid work as seen as necessary, and a way into paid positions within various companies and industries. Langille adds that young workers are particularly vulnerable to this, seeing as unpaid internships are primarily advertised to post secondary students.
“This can leave students feeling like they have little choice but to take on these unpaid positions,” says Lapointe, who works with CWA Canada and the Canadian University Press. “However, studies have shown that unpaid internships are less likely to lead to a real job than paid ones.”
In many cases unpaid internships end up requiring as much time and responsibility as a paying job. This closes off opportunities to those who are unable to support themselves financially in other ways, and has been a contributing factor to the growing rate of youth unemployment in Canada. One of the solutions proposed during this talk was for students to be aware of employment rights.
The Employment Standards Act, which regulates employment in Ontario, makes it clear that young workers qualify as employees even under the title of “intern.” Therefore, they are entitled to employment rights such as minimum wage. In order for an unpaid internship to be legal in Ontario, it must meet six basic conditions outlined by the ESA.
For example, the employer must not benefit from the activity of the intern or promise the intern a job at the end of their training. Lapointe advises students that they should only take on an internship if they feel they are getting something useful out of it. “It’s a good idea to go into the internship with your own goals, ideas for projects you’d like to work on, and skills you’d like to develop,” says Lapointe. “Talk these over with your supervisor, and if along the way, the internship doesn’t seem like a good fit, don’t be afraid to walk away from it.”
Hubert Maliszewski
Contributor