People Are Sketchy About The Government’s $4 An Hour Internship Scheme

Our initial reaction was a little uneasy –  it seems like a source of well-below minimum wage labour for businesses, and a stopgap solution for both unemployment and the issue of unpaid internships.

Well, looks like it’s a widely held sentiment. The Australian Council of Trade Unions called it a “$4-per-hour jobs for young people” scheme, and the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union said it was “yet another layer of unpaid labour which is actually going to be subsidised by the taxpayer.”

It’s definitely a concern, because as a financial arrangement it doesn’t sound like there’s dramatically equal benefit. Especially seeing as many of the examples the government gives in its own documentation aren’t for high-flying tech internships – they’re for things like ‘working in a supermarket’.

Seriously, the examples of internships in the budget papers are for *waiting tables* and *working in a supermarket* pic.twitter.com/2Aj3zdwvgw

— _robcorr (@_robcorr) May 3, 2016

The folks on Twitter bit back too, pointing out that the scheme looked ripe for exploitation:

Hmm I’m not convinced paying businesses to hire interns is a major win. https://t.co/YQwa3VaJfJ

— Osman Faruqi (@oz_f) May 3, 2016

The government’s internship program may lead the increased exploitation of young people @InternsAUS https://t.co/sVdoOOuGOU

— Joe McKenzie (@aJoeMcKenzie) May 3, 2016

So young people can get $4/h internships instead of being offered the actual job. #auspol pic.twitter.com/BjPDgWNoLO

— Rachel Baker (@astudentnow) May 3, 2016

I don’t think this is what people meant when they said they wanted paid internships.

— Neggy Gearo (@bortofdarkness) May 3, 2016

There are some fans, though. The Australian Council of Social Services think it’s a good way to “[provide] an opportunity for young people to get work experience in real jobs”, and peak business bodies are generally in agreement that it’s a better way to do it than old work-for-the-dole schemes.

We’ll have to wait and see whether the voters think this is a compelling solution. But from the outside it certainly looks like an easy way for business to source cheap labour and avoid paying minimum wage.

Source: ABC News.