fbpx
How did we celebrate the International day of interns and why are paid internships important?

On Wednesday and Thursday, November 9 and 10, the program coordinator of KOMS, Anja Jokić, was in Brussels, Belgium, where together with colleagues from youth umbrella associations and international youth organizations, she worked on improving the framework for youth market entry. of work, as well as participated in the protest and debate organized on November 10 on the occasion of the International Day of Practitioners.

Wednesday, November 9

On the first day, Anja met with colleagues from youth umbrella associations and international youth organizations to jointly reflect on the progress of the #BanUnpaidInternships campaign, which is implemented by the European Youth Forum (YFJ), and in whose implementation KOMS took an active part in the middle of this year. On that occasion, they exchanged information on the state of work practices at the national and international level, as well as discussed the continuation of the campaign in 2023, advocating to regulate work practices not only on the open market, but also those that are a mandatory part of formal education.


After that, the premises of the European Parliament participated in a series of bilateral meetings with members of the European Parliament. On that occasion, we met with Lawrence Farange, Alicia Holmes Ginel, Kira Peter-Hansen, and a little later Cyrus Engerer. They discussed with them the goals of the campaign, as well as the efforts in the countries from which the participants came to regulate work practices and internships, and to protect the labor and social rights of young people.

Thursday, November 10

Happy trainee day!

We have marked this important day for all young people in front of the European Parliament by participating in a protest jointly organized by the YFJ and the Youth Committee of the European Confederation of Trade Unions. The goal of the protest was to draw attention to why it is important for practitioners to be paid, as well as to what are the criteria that practice should meet, so that it would really be of high quality.

This protest was supported by young people, representatives of youth organizations, as well as several members of the European Parliament who addressed the young people on that occasion.

After the protest, they attended a panel discussion in which representatives of the European Parliament, the European Commission, the European Youth Forum and the European Trade Union Conference took part. All of them agreed that it is of great importance that unpaid internships be prohibited, but they also referred to some challenges and obstacles due to which the EU-level directive that would regulate this area has not yet been adopted.

Can you dream of working for free – Why is it important that internships are paid?

There are many reasons why it was important for us to celebrate the International day of interns, as well as to support the #BanUnpaidInternships campaign.

Namely, the question of paid and unpaid work practices and internships is a question of the human rights of young people. Young people throughout Europe, including in Serbia, need work experience that would enable them to find adequate jobs when they enter the labor market. However, we can ask how they can do this, especially if they are expected to do unpaid work, and what costs do young people actually incur by doing unpaid internships?

Namely, the question of paid and unpaid work practices and internships is a question of the human rights of young people. Young people throughout Europe, including in Serbia, need work experience that would enable them to find adequate jobs when they enter the labor market. However, we can ask how they can do this, especially if they are expected to do unpaid work, and what costs do young people actually incur by doing unpaid internships?

Young people often do work placements that aim to provide them with temporary work experience at the workplace where they perform various tasks and develop skills that prepare them to enter the labor market and find an adequate job. They can be carried out within formal education or on the open labor market, or they can be organized by public employment services as part of an active labor market policy.

After the protest, they attended a panel discussion in which representatives of the European Parliament, the European Commission, the European Youth Forum and the European Trade Union Conference took part. All of them agreed that it is of great importance that unpaid internships be prohibited, but they also referred to some challenges and obstacles due to which the EU-level directive that would regulate this area has not yet been adopted.

However, unpaid internships can have consequences for individual young people as well as the rest of society. This type of practice limits the opportunities of young people whose families are not financially able to support them during the period of performing unpaid work, which further deepens inequality.

They can also lead to a reduction in the quality of entry-level jobs as employers may replace them with unpaid internships or internships to save costs. Thus, instead of serving to bridge the transition from education to the labor market, unpaid breaks can lead to the disappearance of jobs that young people aspire to and that are appropriate for their qualifications.

For young people, the unpaid work they do during internships not only deprives them of the evaluation of their efforts, but also means a lack of protection of their social rights, so they do not claim rights to, for example, sick leave and health insurance. This can put them in a precarious position with little financial security, which can further affect their well-being and (economic) contribution to the community.

Some of the criteria that work practice or preparatory internship should meet in order to be of high quality are:

  • Contractual regulation of rights and obligations of interns, i.e. interns during the internship program,
  • Mentoring support,
    • Defined learning objectives,
    • Adequate monetary compensation,
    • Program evaluation,
    • Issuance of a certificate of completed work practice.

    What is the situation in Serbia?

    The Alternative report on the position and needs of young people for the year 2022 showed us that over 1/2 of young people in Serbia were doing work practice, and that 1/4 of them were dissatisfied with the quality of it. Also, what is worrisome is that 3/4 of young people did not receive any financial compensation for their internship.

    In 2021, the relevant actors, as well as the KOMS, worked on drafting the first Law on work practices, which meets a large number of criteria of quality work practices, but not the one related to financial compensation. What is important is that this aspect of the Law be adopted in advance, as well as the Law on Labor Practices as soon as possible in order to protect the labor rights of young people and to improve their socio-economic position. We hope for the adoption of this Law as soon as possible, given that this is exactly what the representative Ana Brnabić announced in her presentation on October 27, 2022.