Does it ever seem that companies’ requirements for new hires are more unrealistic than ever? You’ve probably seen the memes mocking potential employers who are requesting 10 years of experience from someone who came straight out of high school or college. You need the experience to get the job, but you need a job to get experience—a true Catch-22 scenario in real life. For this (ridiculous) reason, many young people are doing unpaid internships to gain experience and skills. But it seems awfully unfair to put in a workload for no compensation at all, doesn’t it? Luckily, some lawmakers in the European Parliament agree. Recently, they have been calling to ban unpaid internships across the states of the European Union.

More info: Euractiv

EU lawmakers are calling for a ban on unpaid internships

Image credits: adpowers (not the actual photo)

Some EU lawmakers called upon the European Commission and member states last week to increase their support for working young people. Across the EU, youth unemployment is on the rise, which was further worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic. In a new resolution with 574 votes to 77 and 43 abstentions, the lawmakers are urging the member states to ensure that people who enroll for the Youth Guarantee schemes are offered “good-quality, varied, and tailored job, training, apprenticeship, or internship offers, including fair remuneration.”

The resolution indicates unpaid internships as “a form of exploitation of young people’s work and a violation of their rights.”

According to them, it’s “a form of exploitation of young people’s work”

Image credits: ugacommunications (not the actual photo)

Last week, European Parliament President David Sassoli told the media: “This battle against unpaid internships has been going on for a long time. For too long, we have got used to unpaid traineeships, but this has got to change.”

“The European Parliament is now leading by example, and unpaid internships are illegal in the House. What we want now is for this to be replicated across the EU so that, once and for all, we rid ourselves of the problem of unpaid interns,” added MEP Brando Benifei.

“It’s crucial that the EU learns from past mistakes by offering young people quality jobs”

Image credits: eurostat

“With the youth unemployment rate at 17.6% in the EU in August 2020, EU lawmakers also called for more funds to strengthen the Youth Guarantee scheme for 2021-2027 in their resolution,” Euractiv informs.

Commenting on the resolution, the European Youth Forum (EYF) said that they’re hoping to make unpaid internships “a thing of the past.”

“For too long, we have got used to unpaid traineeships, but this has got to change”

“With youth unemployment rising more sharply now than after the financial crash, it’s crucial that the EU learns from past mistakes by offering young people quality jobs and real legal protection from exploitation,” said Ludovic Voet, confederal secretary of ETUC [European Trade Union Confederation].

Here’s what people online thought about the idea

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