Canadian HR Reporter

Canadian HR RepoRteR February 9, 2015 News 7 H R M A X I M 0 9 In workforce management, "cloud" isn't just a buzzword… it's what you expect. Solutions built for today and ready for tomorrow. workforcesoftware.com/cloud Actual number of unpaid interns could be higher department to department," said Liu, adding that the data they re- ceived was only part of the picture. "It was difficult to get a com- plete answer but I think it shows that this is a really large phenom- enon that is taking place." e actual number of unpaid interns used on Parliament Hill could be quite a bit higher, said Andrew Langille, a Toronto- based labour lawyer and advocate for young workers. "e number is actually higher than what was indicated... Cer- tainly there are quite a few in- terns on Parliament Hill work- ing for MPs and senators, so I'm sure that number would probably boost the figure by 500 a year. But overall, it's not surprising. We've known that this has been an issue for a number of years but this is the first time that we've seen con- crete evidence indicating this is a more systemic problem across the board," he said. e fact that the federal govern- ment is engaging in these employ- ment practices is not a surprise to Claire Seaborn, Toronto-based president of the Canadian Intern Association. "It's not a shock to us," she said. "I'm really glad that awareness is being raised about the issue and that there seems to be a growing public sentiment that this is prob- lematic. So I definitely appreciate that. "The fact that we're talking about these federal interns really highlights the need for reform of federal employment laws." Seaborn has appeared twice before the House of Commons finance committee to give sub- missions on amendments to the Canada Labour Code around employing interns. "ey're not protected by work- place health and safety, there's not a lot of guidance on human rights — although they are protected by human rights laws — and it's just unclear at the federal level wheth- er interns are considered employ- ees or not. So we're looking for clarity at the federal level," she said. Liu's bill shares many of those same objectives. "Currently, the federal Labour Code does not cover unpaid in- ternships so that means interns working for federally regulated industries such as telecommu- nications and banking are not actually protected from things like harassment or things like reason- able hours of work. So I tabled a bill in order to make sure that all unpaid interns receive the same protections that paid employees currently receive," she said. "My bill would also reduce the use of unpaid internships, it would ensure that paid positions can't be transformed into unpaid internships, and it would also ensure that unpaid internships are primarily for the benefit of the intern." Amending the federal Labour Code would just be a starting point, said Liu. "is bill is really tabled with a goal of fixing these urgent lapses in the system, this concerning grey area that interns currently fall under. "But there definitely needs to be more action taken federally to deal with this issue of unpaid internships, and the larger issue of youth unemployment which often forces young workers to go into unpaid internships." Moving forward One important step would be for Statistics Canada to begin track- ing data around interns, said Seaborn. "e fact that this data is not available is really problematic." Currently, there are an esti- mated 300,000 unpaid interns in Canada, said Liu. "But there is no official data from StatsCan to prove this. So if we want to deal with the issue of unpaid interns in Canada… we need to measure the problem." ere should also be a directive to the federal departments that if they're going to use internships, they have to be paid, said Langille. "Frank ly, young p e ople shouldn't have to do an unpaid internship with the federal gov- ernment. The federal govern- ment has quite a lot of financial resources behind it and the idea that they can't pay minimum wage is somewhat absurd. ey have the ability to pay, and they're choosing not to pay the young workers," he said. "It sends a signal to other com- panies, be it the Bells or the Rog- ers of the world, that it's accept- able to exploit young people." Enforcement is also an issue, but it's difficult to focus on en- forcement when it's unclear what the law is, said Seaborn. "How is the federal govern- ment essentially doing nothing in terms of enforcement? First of all, you have a lack of clarity on your laws, and then you're not enforc- ing them, I guess because the laws aren't clear," she said. "It would be great if (the fed- eral government) were setting an example for the rest of the coun- try. But, instead, I think Ontario has been the leader in terms of enforcement strategies, the On- tario Ministry of Labour, because they've done some really cool in- spection blitzes, they've respond- ed to anonymous complaints." But it's important that the federal government model best practices as well, said Langille, and if you look at organizations in Canada with good human re- sources practices, the standard is to pay interns. "The federal government is sending a terrible message here. ey're telling young people that they're worthless, they've unde- serving of a wage," he said. "I re- ally hope those practices change soon." INterNs < pg. 1 Canada's Employment Minister Jason Kenney speaks on Parliament Hill in Ottawa in November. The federal government has come under fire recently for its heavy use of unpaid interns. Credit: Chris Wattie (Reuters) "It was a bit of a risk — would employees show up? Your confi- dentiality kind of gets parked at the door when you show up. But what we found was that we actu- ally had standing room only… we had over 100 employees come for- ward for our intro sessions." What's next? As employers develop caregiver strategies in the workplace, it's important to keep the focus on strategy instead of ready-made solutions, said Lero. Flexibility is one of the keys — there is evidence that flexible work arrangements, which are some of the easiest to implement, can have substantial effects on absenteeism. And a flexible workplace can help employers go further than just meeting the minimum legal obligations, said Daye. "Building an inclusive work- place can actually allow an em- ployer to go beyond the bare minimum legal obligations — in other words, avoiding a lawsuit or a complaint being brought against you — and it can help create the circumstances whereby most employees and more employees will be able to manage their care- giving obligations and their work obligations successfully," she said. "Flexibility... can help avoid the ac- commodation question from even arising, and we really promote that preventative action." A culture of support is also critical for keeping employees engaged and encouraging them to actually use the solutions available to them, said Lero. "Developing that culture that respects caregivers — which does not cost much at all… that kind of support goes a long way in terms of employee engagement, loyalty and productivity." cAregIvers < pg. 6 Flexible workplace helps

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