Labour backs unions’ call to end exploitative unpaid internships
Labour backs unions’ call to end exploitative unpaid internships - The Labour Party
- Government must use EU Presidency to protect young workers
Labour workers’ rights spokesperson Senator Nessa Cosgrove has backed calls from trade unions for Government to use Ireland’s Presidency of the European Union to advance the proposed EU Traineeships Directive, which would ban exploitative unpaid internships.
More than two years after the European Commission first proposed the legislation, it has yet to receive final approval. Senator Cosgrove said Government must use the opportunity of the Presidency to ensure the directive is progressed.
Senator Cosgrove said:
“I fully support the call from ICTU for Government to use its Presidency of the European Union to advance the Traineeships Directive. Ireland has an opportunity to show leadership by helping to deliver legislation that will finally put an end to exploitative unpaid internships across Europe.
“Too often unpaid internships are presented as an opportunity, but the reality is they come with very real costs. Young people still have to pay for transport, lunches and other day-to-day expenses simply to turn up to work. That is fundamentally unfair and means that young people from lower and middle income households get locked out of valuable experience simply because they cannot afford to work for nothing.
“Labour has consistently argued that work must be valued fairly and that everyone deserves decent pay and decent conditions. Minister Peter Burke must make this a priority during Ireland’s EU Presidency. We cannot allow this legislation to remain stalled while another generation of young workers faces exploitation. Ireland should use its influence to build support for the Traineeships Directive and end unpaid internships.”