Unpaid internships would be Milibanned under Labour, says Ed
But he’s never heard of Vice
Youth confused Ed Miliband has pledged to ban unpaid internships – saying they are “rigged” to benefit the wealthy.
The Labour leader promised to limit work experience to four weeks if there is no pay as part of his youth manifesto.
The attempt to woo younger voters came on the same day Miliband admitted he’d never heard of Vice – a news service most popular with young people.
He said: “In this country, if you want a good job in a highly-prized sector, you’re often asked to work for free, often for months on end, sometimes even a year.
“It’s a system that’s rigged in favour of those who can afford it.”
Stats from The Sutton Trust show 31 per cent of graduates work for nothing with around 22,000 interns unpaid in the UK.
Ben Lyons, co-founder of the campaign group Intern Aware, said: “The current chasm between twenty-somethings who can afford to work for months on end for free and those who can’t is bad for social mobility, bad for business and bad for Britain.”
Miliband said the scandal was hindering young and talented people from working for top UK businesses.
He added: “It’s not fair, it’s not right. So we’ll put a stop to it. We’ll end the scandal of unpaid internships.”
But the Chamber of Commerce said blanket legislation would put work experience opportunities at risk.
Today The Sun revealed a top Labour figure advertised for five unpaid internships in March.
Election campaign deputy chairman Toby Perkins offered expenses only for six weeks of work.
Miliband also reaffirmed his promise to slash tuition fees to £6,000 if Labour are elected in a speech in Lincoln yesterday.
Earlier this year, we caught up with Ed and his head spinner took this photo.