More unpaid internships exploit youth: lawyer

Listen Young people in Canada may take unpaid internships in the transition from school to the labour market but many internships are illegal and exploit young people, says Andrew Langille, a Toronto lawyer specializing in youth and workplace law.

Internships in Canada may occur in the context of colleges or university programs, or they may be offered after a student graduates. Langille estimates that of the half million internships on offer, 300,000 violate labour standards.

Governments don’t enforce labour laws: lawyer

Labour in Canada is governed by the provincial governments and most have labour codes which specify minimum wages and working conditions. The problem, says Langille, is that most governments do not enforce their own laws.

“If somebody complains there will be an investigation,” says Langille. “But the investigation can take a very long time to complete and most labour ministries are terribly understaffed. So there’s no real pro-active enforcement …Employers realize this and take advantage of it. And governments don’t want to be seen as anti-business so governments don’t really enforce employment standards laws in Canada.”

Negative effects of internships

Unpaid internships tend to target young female workers, says Langille, and they exacerbate income inequality because poorer students can’t afford to do unpaid work and may be blocked from getting the experience they need to eventually get paid work. He adds that interns have a higher risk of being harassed or sexually harassed or discriminated against because they have a heightened level of vulnerability because of their age and social location.

 

Interns and trainees in the province of Ontario are not covered under the Occupational Health and Safety Act which guarantees the physical well-being of workers and, for example, allows them to refuse to work in unsafe settings and sets out protocols for handling chemical, equipment and dangerous situation.

“Explosion” in unpaid internships

There’s been an “explosion” in the use of unpaid interns over the last decade, says Langille. “It seems it’s almost mandatory (to intern) now if you want to find a job.” He attributes some of the increase to the global recession and employers trying to cut labour costs. Internships are offered in various public and private sectors.

It’s time to bring in legislation to protect interns, he say, and to enforce it. Langille adds the government needs to start keeping statistics on internships.