The internship sector in India: unregulated and largely ignored
The world of internships and interns in India is by no means tiny. It is mildly disturbing, then, that there are absolutely no laws that cover interns in India. The Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946 does make a mention of apprentices but applies only to industrial establishments that employ 100 or more workers. The rules pertaining to this Act include some very good ones about legal redressal related to removal from service etc., but all the laws that apply to permanent workers do not apply to apprentices.
We all know (only too well) that unpaid internships aren’t illegal in India. Interns aren’t even entitled to get minimum wages. The Minimum Wages Act, 1948, covers mainly the unorganised primary sector. This means you aren’t entitled to get minimum wages unless you work in, say, a toffee factory or are engaged in the “handling and care of elephants.”
Unpaid internships that provide immediate advantages to the employer are illegal in USA, UK, Japan and Canada among other countries. This fact is not very well known even in these countries, because although previously unpaid interns have been compensated, these cases do not make news. This is because, as an employment attorney says, “The vast majority of wage claims are resolved out of court, generally for amounts that are kept confidential.”
But are special laws for interns really necessary? Don’t we keep hearing stories about great internships, learning experiences and about how internships turn you into a professional? Yes, internships are a really good idea. Even if some of them are unpaid, they are irreplaceable. Don’t you think that since they are irreplaceable, internships should be better regulated? Consider the following:
Fair recruitment:– The acquisition of most internships, unlike most jobs, is quite informal. All available internships aren’t properly advertised. The Compulsory Notification of Vacancies Act states that
All establishments in the public sector and such establishments in private sector excluding agriculture, where ordinarily 25 or more persons are employed are required to notify all vacancies (other than those exempted) to the appropriate Employment Exchange.
It is highly doubtful that this law is followed even in the case of jobs (perhaps due to lack of awareness among recruiters); should something in the nature of this not exist for internships, too? On the other hand, when companies accommodate interns by request even though they do not have vacancies, would it make such internships illegal? Consequently, would it further limit the already small pool of meaningful internship opportunities?
Workplace harassment:– Do we not need at least some laws against harassment of interns at the workplace? It appears as if interns do not have much of a case when it comes to protection against harassment; and most interns would be afraid to stand up for themselves for fear of ruining their career by throwing away an internship they worked so hard to get. Add to that a lost court case, and it really is a lose-lose situation for the intern.
Safety:– The Factories Act, 1948 defines a worker as
…a person employed directly or by or through any agency […] whether for remuneration or not in any manufacturing process, or in cleaning any part of the machinery or premises used for a manufacturing process, or in any other kind of work incidental to, or connected with the manufacturing process, or the subject of the manufacturing process…
There is no clarity if this includes interns or not. If you are working in a factory as part of your internship and meet with an accident on the floor, is it fair to ask companies for compensation? We have not come across any legal cases in this domain; perhaps it would be prudent for the government to come up with minimum guidelines (or to expand the definition of a worker) in this regard.
Quality of training/work:– Currently, there is no mechanism to hold companies accountable for the quality of training and work they offer. An intern can never be sure if s/he will receive useful training, or even get to do meaningful work. There are stories of interns having to do mindless, unpaid work and receiving a far-from-ideal recommendation letter at the end of it all. Does this sound like an exaggeration to you? Read this story. Yes, all internships do teach you something or the other, but it would be so much better if summers spent making coffee were not passed off as “internships”. A summer wasted does not come back; even a common forum where previous interns can rate companies could save students many regrets later on. Internocracy is a very good example of this.
Also consider the situation in some countries today, where many regular jobs are called internships so that the employer gets free work done and does not have much responsibility towards the worker. We do not see this happening in India on a large scale yet; do you think we would ever be in such a situation? What can we do to prevent this from happening?
In today’s world of cut-throat competition, internships are more necessary than ever: not only for courses that make internships mandatory, but for all students, to stay ahead of the game. Everyone has work experience, and one cannot turn one’s back on internships because they are unsatisfactory. Right now, the state of internships is like the state of consumers before good consumer laws were passed: “If you don’t like a product, don’t buy it.” Volunteering and internships at start-ups will have their limitations, of course, but internships in big corporate houses need not be unregulated.
Do you think interns have sufficient rights? Have you faced any problems because of the lack of regulation and laws regarding internships? Tell us!
P.S.: The Apprentices Act, 1961, appears not to cover interns; but it is a (quite admirable) scheme by the government to help engineering and vocational education students land paid internships. Stay tuned to Internshala for an article about the same.
Image credit: http://strongerunions.org/
