UK working on guidelines about intern wages

Interns Anonymous has a potential scoop that’s quite interesting: HMRC (Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs – the British IRS, the Revenue Department) would be about to address directly internships as part of the wage regulations.

This is not about making unpaid internships illegal, or at least it does not seem to be. They are already illegal, if they do not meet certain criteria. But it may bring a clarity to the regulations that will make them harder to avoid.

What if interns went on strike?

Elizabeth Daley has this provocative article for her article in the Christian Science Monitor. Unfortunately, she does not explore the theme much further. It would have been nice to have some figures, somes estimates, some testimony of employers who have unpaid interns. Still, the intention is good and the points are relevant. And there’s this suggestion:

My philosophy is this: If you don’t pay me, I will not work. I encourage you to join me.

A spontaneous coordination of labor without organization except for an aricle in the Monitor may not be enough. Enforcing the existing laws would be a start.