Interns Anonymous are going to a drinks reception. It is being held by the parliamentary branch of the union ‘Unite’ in the Houses of Parliament. There’s going to be a presentation on internships in Westminster- that’s why we’re invited. We will take the answers to our survey (soon to be put up here), the experiences we have on record and our opinions and see if we can sound some important people out. We’re putting this post up because we want you to tell us what you want to say- comment below, or email us- simple.
Do you want more regulation?
Do you want a guaranteed minimum wage for all interns?
With the current political turbulence, now is the time to change the system…
Advertisement
Just a discussion of the reality facing recent graduates would be good enough for me.
not so much minimum wage – just an awareness amongst employers that you cant be expected to work for months without pay to get entry level jobs. good luck
expenses in line with MPs?
A minimum wage is hardly unreasonable. Those of us who work for MPs basically run their lives sometimes – doing that without any pay is hardly fair is it? Min wage would provide greater incentive to work harder, it would improve stress levels of interns, and would basically just be the fairest solution.
Minimum Wage is absolutely what interns should be paid – and bearing in mind the circumstances of what they do, it is almost certainly what is legally due to them.
I should remind them of the requirements of the Minimum Wage regulations – if people are taken on and expected to do real work, they must be paid whether they are called “interns” or not. Every other industry is cleaning up their act on this front – it’s time MPs raised their game and adhere to the regulations that many of them brought about in the first place!
Have a good meeting!
I’d suggest reading about the European Parliament’s Schuman scholarship before you go to the meeting. Granted this is a traineeship which means that you’re working with the civil service as opposed to an MEP, but the principle is that you gain valuable work experience whilst also being provided with a basic level of funding. It opens up this kind of work experience to people from all kinds of backgrounds and financial situations.
I think that the whole staffing system in Westminster needs to be overhauled, as there are far too many interns who are effectively being exploited and far too few chances to become a researcher at the end of it. Good luck!
More on Schuman scholarship for anyone interested:
http://tueb.org/J/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=171:european-parliament-paid-traineeship-schuman-scholarship&catid=55:paid-positions&Itemid=82