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Internships offer valuable hands on experience. But
globally, internships often involve
mindless or menial work. In 2010, the Economic Policy Institute reviewed a guidebook of “top” business internships and found many of them provided “no explicit academic or training component,” despite Labor Department requirements. Raphael Pope-Sussman says he once saw a posting on Craigslist for an “ice cream intern.” The ice cream shop wanted someone to scoop ice cream for no pay. (Pope-Sussman, 2012)
mindless or menial work. In 2010, the Economic Policy Institute reviewed a guidebook of “top” business internships and found many of them provided “no explicit academic or training component,” despite Labor Department requirements. Raphael Pope-Sussman says he once saw a posting on Craigslist for an “ice cream intern.” The ice cream shop wanted someone to scoop ice cream for no pay. (Pope-Sussman, 2012)
At University of Illinois at Chicago’s College of
Engineering, nearly every student with two or more internships during their
school years found jobs within six months of graduation last year, according to
school data. In comparison, 84% of those with at least one internship had jobs
during that period, compared to 73% of all graduates from UIC’s engineering
school. (Korn, The Importance of Being an Intern, 2013) A new survey from
the National Association of Colleges and Employers finds that the equation
isn’t quite so tidy. That internship might lead to a job–but your chances are
far better if you’re getting paid. “The goal of an internship is not to make
money, ever,” says Heather R. Huhman, author of “Lies, Damned Lies & Internships”
and other career-related books. Instead, internships are supposed to help a
student learn more about a prospective field, gain experience in that field and
supplement their classroom education. Any payment should be viewed as a
“bonus,” Huhman says. (Korn, Are Unpaid Internships
Worth the Effort?, 2012)
Now a day’s young people work 40 hours (i.e. 8hours & 5
Days a week) and even more in answering phones, making copies and performing other
menial jobs like doing data entry and all that without earning a Rupee. I have
worked as an intern in Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA) which is the state owned
regulatory and service providing authority for civil aviation in Pakistan. In
the application form, which the interns fill out before their joining clearly states
that this internship will be given to the student at no expense to PCAA i.e.
Pakistan Civil aviation authority, and that the student is not entitled to any
payment (monetary or in any other form), benefits or job assurance. Meaning
that the unpaid interns receive no benefits, no legal protection against
harassment or discrimination, and no job security. They generate huge or at
least considerable amount of value for their employers, and yet they are paid
nothing. My own peers are working in Gerry`s Danata (A 50/50 partnership of Danata,
Emirates), a ground handling FBO at Lahore International airport. They work 12
hours a day, 4-5 days a week and even more if the flight load is high. They
have to work 3 months for free and then they are paid (incase their performance
is good) from the 4th month at 5000 PKR i.e. 49.1425 US Dollar as per today's rate. After 8 months
experience, their pay is raised to 16000 PKR 157.2560 US Dollar. Keep in mind that this is the salary of an educated, groomed
Bachelors student soon to be graduate. On the other hand if we compare this to
the salary of a mason, an illiterate labor in Pakistan, (Approved minimum rates of wages per month for 26 day) is 13,441/- PKR.
To improve their own job placement rates, Universities are now-a-days going to great lengths to secure
internships and jobs for their students. My university (UMT Lahore) recently collaborated with Dunya
News a prominent Pakistani TV channel. I applied for the post of social media
marketer. Even with relevant experiences, they were not willing to pay the
applicants a stipend let alone a salary for 3 months. After that, if the
selected applicants wanted to continue, (and the channel let them continue)
they will be paid. An authentic source (ex-employee) in the channel told me
that the salary, even in that case is just 15000 PKR tops.
Those who can't afford to take unpaid internships suffer
even more. This is because after graduation, they are forced to compete for
jobs with peers who have already had an internship experiences on their resumes
and in many cases the graduates with no work experience are often denied entry.
Then with a degree in their hand, these students are ready to work for free to
get their foot in the door and the exploitation cycle continues….
Isn’t this the definition of exploitation and slavery?
Bibliography
Korn, M. (2012, July 27). Are Unpaid Internships
Worth the Effort? Retrieved from blogs.wsj.com:
http://blogs.wsj.com/atwork/2012/07/27/are-unpaid-internships-worth-the-effort/
Korn, M. (2013, June 18). The Importance of Being
an Intern. Retrieved from blogs.wsj.com.
Pope-Sussman, R. (2012, Feburary 04). Unpaid
Internships Should Be Illegal. Retrieved from nytimes.com:
http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2012/02/04/do-unpaid-internships-exploit-college-students/unpaid-internships-should-beillegal
