The European Youth Forum Seeking to Ban Unpaid Internships

The European Youth Forum has lodged a complaint against the Belgian government, seeking to ban unpaid internships.

From the Executive Summary.

Young people entering the job market are in a precarious economic position. Across Europe, and in Belgium those who wish to enter into the professional world are faced with the de facto mandate that in order to gain experience and build the connections that will enable them to find paid professional work in the future, they must complete several internships.

Yet many of these internships are unpaid or underpaid, forcing some young people to rely on their savings or their parents and shutting others out of the process entirely.

This Complaint asks the Committee to consider the legal situation for unpaid interns in Belgium in light of the European Social Charter and find that Belgium is not in conformity with the Charter. Specifically, the provisions in Belgian law that enable unpaid internships, and the lack of enforcement of provisions that aim to curtail them, violate Articles 4 and 7 of the Charter, which provide for fair remuneration and the protection of young people, respectively.

The European Youth Forum report is downloadable below: