The exploitation of workers is often something we think happens elsewhere, far away in the sweatshops of the third world. However, for our generation a new kind of exploitation is fast emerging and materialising in more and more sectors: the exploitation of the unpaid intern.
An internship can be a great way to gain skills, make contacts, and get ahead when it comes to grad jobs. However, in many areas like politics, media, publishing, and design, paid internships are few and far between and working for free is fast becoming a necessity to get an entry level job. With the economic climate as it is and graduate unemployment soaring, the intern culture has firmly taken hold, increasing in number and expanding across sectors. Unable to get paid work, many graduates are undertaking unpaid internships to get better experience in their chosen sectors. Unfortunately, the area of unpaid internships remains unregulated and non-unionised, meaning that interns have few rights or means to stop employers taking advantage.
The UK’s National Minimum Wage Act states that with the exception of charity workers and students, if you work set hours doing tasks that other members of staff rely on, you should be paid. Despite this, many graduate interns find themselves being treated as full time staff, but not getting paid. Not only is this immoral, it’s illegal, but regulatory bodies are not cracking down on intern exploiters. Employers are finding they have access to a never ending stream of free labour, which they can exploit with impunity. 
The system as it stands is not only exploitative, but exacerbates class divisions and dampens social mobility. Unpaid positions mean only a small niche of individuals can afford to take on unpaid work and get into much sought after sectors. Interns Anonymous, an organisation working to uncover the truth about the intern culture has calculated that the cost of an unpaid internship in London is around £1000 a month. Ironically, this means that instead of being paid for the work they do, interns are paying to work, and for those who don't live in the capital, or can’t rely on mummy and daddy for cash, the only option is more debt, or not getting that much needed experience.
This exploitation has got to stop. Official, regulated and remunerated internships are the way forward. This would be a mutually beneficial arrangement: interns get real experience without being exploited, and employers get skilled workers at low cost, without breaking the law. Access to professions should be based on merit, not social class. It’s the MPs in Westminster that have the power to improve the law on internships. Unfortunately, as there are around 450 interns floating around Parliament at any one time, it is unlikely that politicians will change the situation in their own backyards. Until this happens the choice for some graduates is stark and the exploitation continues.

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Kimberley Hobson