Unions questioning Budget’s unpaid work scheme but Labor MPs like the idea

MALCOLM Turnbull has found a supporter of its unpaid internship plan in Labor, with one MP saying: “it seems better than what we’ve had”.

THE Federal Government is looking for a strong endorsement of its plan to sponsor unpaid internships. And it’s expected to come from the Labor front bench.

The Opposition is divided on a program for interns in the Budget, but the principle has surprising support.

Shadow assistant treasurer Andrew Leigh is not only an intern-made-good, he has been a user of the system of interns, or “volunteers”, working in his office since 2011.

And his verdict? “We think it’s better to run a stimulating but unpaid internship program than no program at all,” Dr Leigh said in 2014.

He’s not the only fan. Labor Leader Bill Shorten has used them in his MP’s office.

The Australian National Internships Program, for ANU students, noted on its 21st birthday in March last year: “One of this semester’s interns is working for Opposition Leader Bill Shorten, a prestigious placement for all involved.”

And Greens Leader Richard Di Natale in 2014 said: “Completing a medical internship is essential for a graduate to work as a doctor in Australia. Without an internship a medical degree is useless.”

In Tuesday night’s Budget the government revamped work-for-the-dole and other programs to help young people get jobs. It announced the Youth Jobs Prepare-Trial-Hire program, which has been given the contrived acronym PaTH.

Designed for job seekers aged under 25 — in particular the 100,000 young people who have never had a job — and to start in April next year, it is aimed at giving up to 30,000 people a year 4-12 weeks’ work experience.

The interns would get $200 a week “incentive payment” from the government and the businesses would get a $1000 payment upfront to host them. If the person is hired, the employer would get a subsidy of $10,000 over six months.

Trade unions are suspicious of the arrangements, fearing it will be merely a source of free labour, and Dr Leigh’s Labor colleague Brendan O’Connor has yet to be convinced of its merit.

“It’s not growing the labour market, it’s underpaying the worker,” said Mr O’Connor, opposition employment spokesman, on Thursday.

And the government acknowledges it will have to draw up firm guidelines to prevent “churn” — in which an employer simply takes on several interns in rapid succession for the $1000 — or the failure of an employer to provide genuine work experience.

However, Dr Leigh gave the program in-principle support, telling the ABC on Thursday, “We certainly like the package in general.

“There appears to be certainly movements away from Work for the Dole, which had been criticised by a number of evaluations towards measures that look more at the steps of training and internships,” he said.

“We’ll step through the details there, but it seems better than what we’ve had.”

A committee hearing today saw Labor senators question Employment Minister Michaelia Cash on the scheme.

“One of the things this program is trying to tackle is the fact that these kids are not getting a chance to get that foot in the door,” said Ms Cash.

Australian Unions claims that interns under the program would not be covered by workers’ compensation laws.

CONFIRMED: Interns will not be covered by workers' compensation laws. Truly awful. ⚠️ #auspol #estimates #Budget2016 pic.twitter.com/it0h3GkkS1

— Australian Unions (@unionsaustralia) May 6, 2016

Dr Leigh, who was an intern with a Labor MP when he was younger, has previously said a lot of employers would not employ someone without work experience.

“When I was 16, I did two weeks’ work experience for John Langmore, who was then the member for Fraser,” he wrote on his electorate site in 2014.

“It was 1988, the first year that the new Parliament House had been opened, and I remember getting hopelessly lost as I went on errands around the building.

“I’m not sure that I provided any value to John, but the experience had a profound impact on me — as I learned a ton about the issues and personalities that drove politics in that era.”

He said that over a year there had been a variety of “volunteers” in his office “helping solve constituent problems, answering the phone, assisting with campaigning activities, and looking into data-related issues (I’ve made particularly good use of economics students)”.

And he was appealing for more.

“If we had an external source of funding, I’d love to run a paid internship program,” Dr Leigh wrote.

“But we don’t. So our philosophy has been to work hard to ensure that interns/fellows have an experience that’s stimulating and rewarding (as my time working with John Langmore was for me).

“There are few better ways to demystify politics than a week or two in an MP’s office, and we think it’s better to run a stimulating but unpaid internship program than no program at all.”