ASCS Reaction | The European Parliament Bans Unpaid Internships

Last week, the European Parliament decided to pay all interns and ban unpaid internships. Thus, ASCS would like to express its gratitude towards the European Youth Forum, amongst other stakeholders, for their campaigning efforts during these last couple of years.

This is a major step forward in ensuring that young people are not treated as cheap labour, but in contrast, they will have the opportunity to receive decent remuneration and will be insured against illnesses and accidents at work.

According to a survey carried out in 2017 by the Youth Intergroup, currently, one-quarter of interns working for MEPs and political groups in the European Parliament are paid less than €600 a month and 8% of them are unpaid. Hence, the European Union took another step towards fair remuneration, starting from their own institutions.

The position of ASCS is clear; youths must enjoy decent and non-discriminatory working conditions wherever they work.