A student, youth, and labour activist group has made a pre-budget submission to the Ontario government requesting tightened regulations on unpaid internships.
The group, Students Against Unpaid Internship Scams, picketed a pre-budget consultation Feb. 26 outside St. Paul’s Church in Toronto. Joshua Mandryk, the group’s co-chair, said they used the picket as an opportunity to get their message across.
“A lot of our work thus far has been focused on getting the attention of the minister of labour, obviously,” Mandryk said. “We have a petition to the Ontario government, which has over 1,000 signatures, which will be submitted soon. We have a campaign where folks can send an online message to the minister of labour about the need for action.”
The group’s pre-budget submission calls for three steps: proactive enforcement of laws surrounding unpaid internships, educating young workers, employers, and post-secondary institutions about their legal rights and obligations, and a review of all laws surrounding unpaid internships.
A bill introduced March 4 by NDP MPP Jonah Schein called for greater protection of unpaid interns by extending the provisions of the Employment Standards Act to interns.
The bill passed first reading at Queen’s Park, and Mandryk said it was a step in the right direction.
Ontario Minister of Labour Yasir Naqvi said the ministry has been communicating with employers to make sure the laws are being respected regarding interns.
“We will also be doing a very specific employment blitz this coming summer to raise the profile of this issue, and we are also making sure through legislation that interns are covered by the Occupational Health and Safety Act so we’re making legislative changes to make sure that their health and safety is also protected,” Naqvi said.
Naqvi said he has been in touch with the group.
“We’re holding meetings to continue to raise awareness about the rules that deal with internships, and of course this group and all other relevant groups are very much a part of those discussions,” he said.
Naqvi said exceptions to the Employment Standards Act include co-op students, trainees, and self-employed workers.
“If someone feels that a law is not being complied with, we encourage them to file a complaint with the Ministry of Labour so that we can investigate,” he said. “Our role is to make sure that potential employers and potential employees are aware of what the law is and comply by it.”
Mandryk said the complaints-based system is “failing young workers.”
“The complaints-based system of enforcement for unpaid internships outside of academic programs simply doesn’t work,” he said. “Unpaid interns simply can’t . . . or don’t know how to file complaints against employers, and they shouldn’t be expected to.”
Mandryk said the group had a private meeting with finance minister Charles Sousa prior to the pre-budget consultation.
“I think that we had a very positive meeting with Sousa, and he was receptive and he listened, and we appreciate him meeting with us,” Mandryk said. “But I’m not convinced that he’s at the point where he appreciates the urgency of the situation.”
