The growth of unpaid internships in Ontario's labour market is alarming. Traditionally, the highest incidents of illegal unpaid internships have been found in the glamor industries (i.e. magazine publishing, public relations, media, and fashion), but increasingly we're seeing a creep of these positions into both low-wage (i.e. hospitality, retail) and high-wage sectors (i.e. law, health-care).
Today's blog post is focused on a recent example of unpaid internships in Ontario's retail sector. Unpaid internships in the retail sector are on the rise and there has been little coverage of this disturbing trend. The example I'm using comes to us courtesy of Untitled and Co., a Queen West clothing store specializing in sexist anti-women sweatshirts, which recently posted an advertisement asking for multiple unpaid interns. Untitled and Co. is looking for: a Sales Intern, a Design Intern, a Production Intern, and a Merchandising Intern.
The advertisement targets students needing hours to graduate and recent graduates looking for experience. The advertisement discloses probable violations of the Employment Standards Act, 2000 as typically you have to pay employees the minimum wage of $10.25 per hour. Simply put, the circumstances where an employer is allowed to not pay the minimum wage are extremely limited. What Untitled and Co. are attempting to do is mostly the unholy (but common) combination of wage theft and employee misclassification.
I fail to see the educational benefits of working in retail store and this raises an issue of whether post-secondary educational institutions should be letting employers access free labour via students. Another issue that this advertisement raises is whether the Ministry of Labour needs to drastically step up enforcement efforts around unpaid internships. With unpaid internships creeping into low-wage sectors we're be seeing the decimation of the youth labour market, wages driven down, and certain sectors of the population crowded out of work altogether.
See the advertisement from Untitled and Co. below and feel free to call them at 647-748-3114 if you don't like what they're selling. Take a look at some of my previous articles about unpaid internships, see: here, here, here, and here.
Andrew, thank you for bringing the attention to unpaid retail internship. I spent several years in this industry in my undergrad, and working for little money and long hours was bad enough, and I can't even imagine not getting paid at all. Most retail "careers" are thankless, dead-end jobs with little opportunity for advancement. You probably know this better than me, but is it possible to file a formal complaint with the Ministry of Labour in cases like these? Also, could you clarify if there is any type of enforcement when it comes to unpaid internships on the part of the Ministry?
ReplyDeleteAndrew, they aren't the only ones in Toronto's fashion scene. Gyspy Found Objects want people to work for 'trade' by giving people the opportunity to shoot a catalogue for their clothes.
ReplyDeletei emailed them saying what they are doing is illegal
ReplyDeletewe should start protesting companies that exploilt youth..I'm sure a few loud youth would change the minds of these companies
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately the Ministry of Labour told us on Twitter that its policy is to sit on its hands when shown advertisements for illegal paid internships because "real people in real situations" aren't involved.
ReplyDeleteIf the Ministry of Labour doesn't have the legal authority to fine people for advertising positions that violate the Employment Standards Act, why hasn't the law been changed in the 10 years this government has been in power?
I love how everyone on here is so quick to assume a company is a huge evil entity. Not a start up of under 25s running a business they started with their meagre savings. Also the assumption that no was has read or understands the ESA.
ReplyDeleteSo before anyone wants to cast the first stone they should perhaps ask these questions or investigate.
it's illegal to ask people to work for free. stop defending cheapskates
DeleteLangille here. Frankly I don't care whether this is a small business or a large corporation. The idea that a retail store is using unpaid interns in lieu of paid staff is ridiculous. If this was a charity or a non-profit then you might have a point (typically I don't name and shame after charities). The point about about reading and understanding the ESA is laughable. I contacted Untitled and Co. before posting this piece and they had no idea about the legalities surrounding unpaid internships. If they don't like what I wrote then I encourage them to change their exploitative labour practices.
ReplyDeletecheck this one too:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.kickstarter.com/projects/propublica/investigating-the-intern-economy