European Youth Forum: Belgium must do more to stop unpaid internships, rules international human rights body
The European Committee of Social Rights has determined that gaps in Belgium’s legislation allow young people to be exploited as free labour through unpaid internships.
The Committee’s ruling, which came as the result of a Collective Complaint submitted by the European Youth Forum, found that current labour inspection systems in Belgium fail to offer enough protection to vulnerable and disadvantaged young interns.
The ruling also upholds the Complaint’s argument that by limiting opportunities to young people from more advantaged backgrounds, unpaid internships are entrenching inequality.
Based on the outcome of the Committee’s decision, Belgium now has the incentive to ban unpaid internships, and is already committing to take action on the issue.
Pierre-Yves Dermagne, Deputy Prime Minister of Belgium, Minister of Economy and Labour said:
“Unpaid internships are a form of unfair competition, an abuse of young workers and a way to reinforce inequalities in our labour market. With the help of my colleagues from the federated entities, I am doing all in my power to remedy it.” *
Frédéric Piccavet, Vice President, European Youth Forum said:
“Unpaid internships are an exploitative practice, which have no benefit to business, society, and certainly not for young people. This decision should signal the end of unpaid internships not just in Belgium, but across Europe. The European Youth Forum is committed to fight for the right of all young people, regardless of their socioeconomic background, to have equal access to fair, paid jobs.”
Valentine Martin, EU Youth Representative, Forum des Jeunes said:
“The outcome of the Collective Complaint is a positive step forward for youth rights in Belgium. Unpaid internships are a discriminatory practice and only serve to further marginalise young people, who are already facing high levels of unemployment and are at risk of poverty.”
Milan Calloens, former EU Youth Representative, Vlaamse Jeugdraad said:
“Internships are a valuable learning experience for young people, but interns also contribute to the work of the organisation or company where they conduct their internship. We should recognise the labour that interns perform by providing them a fair remuneration, and thus prohibit unpaid internships outside an academic context. In this way, we also counter the practice of using (unpaid) internships as a substitute for entry-level jobs.”
Tea Jarc, Youth President, European Trade Union Confederation said:
”Unpaid internships and precarious jobs have no justification in the recovery period. We are looking forward to working with Belgium social partners on measures that will get to young workers what they deserve and that will expose employers who dare to take advantage of their vulnerable situation.”
