Today I’ve learned a new word for a not quite so new concept :
Freentern = Free + Intern.
It’s a term used for the quite proliferate phenomenon of organisations using unpaid interns – not all of them straight off university, often highly qualified youngsters, sometimes even experienced persons in their mid-30s, previously hit by the fate of redundancy. Interestingly, it’s not only for-profit corporations that are making abundant (ab)use of this practise. But rather, the not-for-profit sector – NGOs, social enterprises, charities, social businesses – has learned how to properly profit from the system to their own benefit.
It feels downright wrong that many of these nonprofits dare to claim leadership positions in Fairtrade & Human-rights, and are in business campaigning for fair labour conditions in developing countries.
It must be then, that the local Freenterns have less of a birth right to be treated fairly, and according to the standards of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) also fairly paid for the work they deliver. How else than can it be generally acceptable practise to abuse their creativity and skill, while comfortably watching their daily struggle to survive?
Oh yes – they do it ‘voluntary’ and hence are ‘volunteers’. Yet another of these often cynically missused terms for the same sad phenomenon.
