Interns, ex-interns, friends of interns, people with ideas and things to say- drop us a line. We want to keep hearing about your experiences, good, bad and ugly so email us at internsanonymous@gmail.com
Archive for November, 2010
Interns Anonymous needs you!
Published 11/18/2010 Campaigns Leave a CommentTags: email address, email us, get in touch
WWMD- what would Marx do?
Published 11/17/2010 Debate 5 CommentsTags: capitalism, communist manifesto, marx, marxian analysis of the internship system
An internee asked us to post this analysis of the intern’s predicament from a Marxian perspective. How could we refuse?
Karl Marx: grand wizard of the far left; the theoretician that inspired hundreds of revolutionary movements across the world, some good, some bad – what would this controversial figure, this champion of the proletariat, make of the current situation most graduates are faced with? Clearly, he would laugh in disbelief: graduates are faced with either unpaid internships, poorly paid ‘proletarian’ jobs, or unemployment – the only thing protecting them from a rapid descent into destitution is the safety net that is the middle class home. What I want to prove in the following polemic is that, despite the fact many of them are privileged, the predicament of today’s graduate is in many ways akin to, if not worse, than that of the proletarian.
Interns Anonymous may have been slow updating the website in recent weeks but don’t be fooled into thinking we aren’t working hard!
The highlight of the past two weeks has been a face to face meeting with about 15 members of Low Pay Commission to update them on what is happening in the intern industry.
We are hopeful that their report on the state of the minimum wage, due in early 2011, will be a forceful condemnation of current practises.
We also keep working on the slow drip drip of press coverage which is gradually moving the intern agenda further up the public’s consciousness.
Please keep writing into us with your intern experiences though, as this is the lifeblood of our site!
We just spotted this post over at Silent City. Fancy joining an interns choir?
ACTION REQUIRED: EMAIL YOUR COMPLAINTS AGAINST FREE LABOUR IN THE CULTURAL SECTOR: paidnotplayed2010@gmail.com
Fed up of working unpaid in the name of love? Then we invite you to join The Paid not Played Choir.
The Paid not Played Choir brings together cultural workers in a stand against the practice of free labour within the arts sector. As part of an ICA residency we welcome you to join the choir in creating, rehearsing and performing a piece of protest music to be staged in the ICA itself and venues and events across London (tbc).
The Paid not Played Choir will be running throughout November 2010. No singing skills required, just a desire to fight free labour! Singers should be available for three two-hour working sessions in November, held at the ICA, as well as performance dates. All dates to be confirmed.
Please begin by emailing: paidnotplayed2010@gmail.com with all your complaints!! We will then send you more information…
DEADLINE FOR COMPLAINTS – 5th November 2010
Participation is free // Food will be served at each rehearsal // Everybody will receive a complimentary DVD of the performance // No singing skills required!!
Time to skip the country?
Published 11/04/2010 Debate , News 3 CommentsTags: bbc news, exodus, graduate unemployment, JSA, percentage unemployment
Some articles for you to peruse over on BBC news, here and here. Graduate unemployment has risen to 8.9% of the total graduate population, which represents a 17-year high. Degrees with smaller than average unemployment rates include Geography and Psychology- who knew?
Two things to say about these articles. One, we haven’t had this level of graduate unemployment since 1993. In 2010 there are more graduates in total, so higher actual numbers of graduates are unemployed than in 1993. Two, unpaid interns are probably not included in that figure because they cannot claim JSA.
With unemployment, unpaid internships and soon to be bank-breaking tuition fees does anyone else think that a mass exodus is on the cards? What’s the best way of avoiding the curse of the student loan? Get out of the UK…
