The pressure exerted by the Parliamentary Labour Committee over the past two years to address the issue concerning the professional practice of young people; often carried out without pay, has finally gained traction.
The government committed yesterday to presenting a relevant draft law to tackle the issue.
This commitment came as a pleasant surprise to the President and members of the Parliamentary Labour Committee, and in light of these positive developments, a new session on the matter has already been scheduled for 9th September.
Speaking to Phileleftheros, the President of the Labour Committee, Andreas Kafkalias, stated, “We hope to have the draft law before us by September,” acknowledging that Labour Minister Yiannis Panayiotou committed yesterday to pushing this forward after dialogue in the autumn and certainly before the end of the year.
Kafkalias welcomed the Labour Minister’s intention, noting that after two years of discussions, there is now a clear government stance on regulating the issue.
Regarding the matter, the Labour Minister, in his statement to Parliament yesterday, essentially showed willingness to listen, not only to parliamentary interventions but also to youth organisations and generally to the young.
He mentioned that 2024 has been declared by the government as the “National Year of Youth”, and within this framework, the Ministry of Labour is promoting legislative regulation of student internships concerning employment terms, social security, and determining compensation.
“We utilise the recommendations included in the conclusions of the 5th Youth Parliament, collaborate with the Parliamentary Labour Committee, and listen to our young people to jointly shape a better and fairer environment for student internships as they prepare to enter the job market,” stated Panayiotou.
“After two years of discussions, for the first time today, it’s true, we heard from the responsible minister that the Government has decided to submit a draft law, which will regulate paid internships for the youth, specifying a timeline as well. By autumn 2024,” said Kafkalias yesterday, noting that the Committee will now wait to see the specifics of this draft law.
“Our requirement is for the draft law to ensure access to employment for internship, determine the amount of compensation, create supervisory and evaluation mechanisms, and regulate matters related to social security, as well as health and safety,” said Kafkalias.
According to information from Phileleftheros, the goal of all parties is for the upcoming draft law to cover young people at three levels: students, who are required to complete internships as part of their study programmes, such as nurses for example, and university graduates, who need to present internship and work experience to obtain professional licences.
For lawyers, there is a relevant plan for professional practice, which partially addresses the issue of unpaid work. The issue of unpaid work during internships also affects other professions.
As Kafkalias hinted, the Parliament’s plan includes regulations that will also cover students who work and need to complete internship hours within the apprenticeship system.
