On Monday 13 January, the members of the European Parliament’s Employment and Social Affairs Committee began work on the directive on high-quality traineeships, presented last March by former Employment Commissioner Nicolas Schmit (see EUROPE 13375/14).
In the presence of a number of experts and representatives of European trade unions, such as the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), and European employers, such as BusinessEurope, the rapporteur-designate, Alícia Homs Ginel (S&D, Spanish), stressed the importance of halting the spiral of insecurity among young people and “banning unpaid internships”. Her report, which is not due to be presented before mid-March, will focus on “stopping exploitation”, disseminating best practice and providing “access to social protection” for trainees.
The Spanish MEP hopes that the proposed directive will “put things right” and put an end to “alarming” situations, such as the fact that, according to Eurostat, 61% of young people on unpaid traineeships are unable to cover basic expenses such as accommodation or transport. “We still need €1,000 a month” said the report.
According to the EPP and Jagna Marczułajtis-Walczak (Polish), the European Parliament will have to send a very clear message at a time when the Council of the EU is divided on the directive. “It has to be said that we want a clear text that protects [trainees]” – she insisted on the need for trainees to be paid.
Greens/EFA MEP Benedetta Scuderi (Italian) called for a precise European definition of a trainee, appropriate remuneration and a clear duration for traineeships. She was highly critical of the fact that only the socially privileged have access to the job market after completing a traineeship.
France’s Leïla Chaibi, speaking on behalf of shadow rapporteur Catarina Martins (Portuguese), added that The Left believes traineeships urgently need to be paid. It “is not possible for unpaid internships to be legal”.
However, other MEPs, such as the French MEP and shadow rapporteur for the Patriots for Europe group, Mélanie Disdier, expressed scepticism about the need for this directive, fearing that it would be counter-productive, with new standards and financial burdens for businesses.
Tea Jarc of the ETUC, for her part, wanted this directive to cover as many trainees as possible, including those in vocational education and those linked to employment activation policies, whereas the Council of the EU has ruled out this type of traineeship for the time being.
And European employers have stressed their preference for a non-binding instrument rather than a directive (the March 2024 ‘Traineeships’ package includes an EU Council recommendation on quality traineeships).
“These traineeships are there for gaining experience; we must avoid traineeships that are too long, or the repetition of traineeships”, but trainees cannot be considered as employees, said Robert Plummer, even if this is the case in certain Member States.
“It is therefore a good idea not to talk about remuneration, but about compensation”, added the BusinessEurope representative, also calling on the co-legislators to strengthen the ‘learning’ component of traineeships.
The EU Council is due to resume its work on 30 January. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)