MP Luciana Berger warns against limiting the types of people able to move into careers in the arts
Government-funded arts and sports bodies have employed more than 800 unpaid interns in the past two years, figures show, in the face of moves led by the deputy prime minister, Nick Clegg, to end the practice.
Research by the Labour MP Luciana Berger shows that in the last two years 884 unpaid interns were employed by 34 organisations funded by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. Some 467 were employed in 2010, dropping slightly to 417 in 2011.
Tate galleries said they regularly employ 120 unpaid interns annually and the National Museum of Science and Industry employed 89. Six organisations increased the number of interns they hired this year. The biggest increase was by the Olympic Delivery Agency, which employed an extra 21 unpaid interns in 2011, up from seven in 2010.
Five museums, including the British Museum and the Horniman Museum in south London, which hired 77 unpaid interns between them in 2010, did not hire any this year.
In April Clegg called for employers to stop handing out internships as part of his drive to improve social mobility in the UK. Clegg said he wanted to end a culture in which individuals could get a foot in the door in firms and industries because of "who your father is", and which was dominated by the "sharp-elbowed middle classes". The social mobility strategy urged more companies to pay interns the minimum wage to attract young applicants from poorer backgrounds.
His campaign received a filip when at the beginning of this month, HM Revenue & Customs ? stung by suggestions it traditionally failed to act on evidence of underpayment ? issued a warning to fashion houses that they could be prosecuted for not paying their interns. HMRC said it had written to all 102 fashion houses involved with September's London fashion week, warning them about non-payment of the minimum wage of �6.08 an hour for those aged 21 and over. Clegg welcomed the move.
But there is concern Clegg's drive against internships will founder in harsh economic conditions for employers and more, not fewer, firms will ask workers to offer their services in return for scant reward ? lunch and travel expenses perhaps, but no pay.
Berger said: "Unpaid internships limit the opportunities for people who cannot afford to work for free. As well as pressuring the private sector to abandon this practice, it's vital that wherever possible the government pays interns the national minimum wage.
"Arts organisations find themselves in a very difficult position following drastic cuts in their funding from government. However, limiting the types of people able to move into a career in the arts can be just as damaging, as having a homogeneous group of people dominating the industry will naturally reduce creativity.
"While I acknowledge that the numbers have dropped slightly this year, the fact that 400 people still had to work for free shows how much more needs to be done."
Berger's figures are supported by the Institute for Public Policy Research thinktank which published evidence on Tuesday it says shows a growth in unpaid internships across the digital and design sectors of the British economy. More than two-fifths of agency staff it surveyed say they are using more unpaid interns.They surveyed 500 agency workers and found that most clients in the design and digital industries expected more work for less money, leading to fewer permanent staff and more unpaid interns.
Staff turnover had increased in recent years, with people working for digital and design agencies saying they were feeling the brunt of the "long, slow recovery" from recession. The thinktank said the country's "faltering" economic recovery was putting pressure on firms to cut costs and reduce staff.
A minority of those questioned said their agency helped employees deal with stress or rewarded them if they put in extra work.
Kayte Lawton, senior research fellow at the IPPR, said: "If an intern is doing work for a company, then they need to be paid. It's as simple as that. Employers often mistakenly believe there is a grey area around internships in the national minimum wage legislation that allows them to take on unpaid interns as long as both sides understand it is a voluntary position - but this is simply not the case."
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2011/dec/27/work-and-careers-arts-policy
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