Unpaid internships, in the European Union they are about 60% of the total

In a Eurobarometer reported by several interns, inadequate working conditions, little transparency in contracts, and when foreseen, insufficient economic reimbursement to cover basic living costs

A rather gray aspect emerged from the latest Euro barometer survey published yesterday in Brussels. The data for on-the-job training and internships in Europe concerns the Commission. Nearly 6 out of 10 trainees (59% of the young people between the ages of 18 and 35 surveyed) say they have not received any monetary compensation during their last internship period. Among the lucky ones who did, however, benefit from a “refund,” less than half of them thought that this was sufficient to cover the minimum cost of living. These numbers confirm that those paying for today’s crisis also and especially are young people, during the difficult process of training and entry into the world of work.

In the survey, compared with a high number of people who claim to have done at least one internship, few (40%) say they had previously signed an agreement or contract of apprenticeship with the host company. In about one case out of every three, young people interviewed reported poor working conditions, while according to a good 20%, the exchange for knowledge is very limited in relation to hours of work carried out during the internship. Almost 25% of respondents also said that they were treated differently from other regular employees during the course of their internship. The most part of these internships continue to occur in their countries of origin; in fact there are only 10% of trainees who choose to perform them abroad.

As a result of these findings, the Commission is working on a proposal for a recommendation addressed primarily to improve the transparency of conditions for an internship contract. In particular, according to the Executive in Brussels, in the face of any proposed internship there must always be a written agreement which clearly states the economic details and job description. The Commission also stressed the importance of having a similar legislation regarding interns’ working hours and those of regularly hired employees.

“We have no legal basis to make it compulsory to pay the internship at a community level; however, we can improve the transparency of apprenticeship contracts,” said Dennis Abbott, spokesman for Androulla Vassiliou, the Commissioner for Education and Culture.  László Andor, European Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion also expressed his opinion on the topic: “Internships are crucial to facilitate the transition from education to the labor market. With the current high levels of youth unemployment in the EU, it is essential to ensure that interns receive excellent training, the experience needed to get a job, and that they are not exploited. That is why the Commission will present a proposal to recommend a quality framework for traineeships, which will define the guidelines to allow trainees to gain high-quality work experience in safe conditions.”

Marco Frisone