Global Intern Strike - More than 15,000 students on strike & actions across Quebec to protest unpaid internships

TIOHTIÀ:KE (MONTREAL), Feb. 20, 2018 /CNW Telbec/ - Answering the call for a Global Intern Strike launched internationally by the Global Intern Coalition and relayed by the Montreal and Sherbrooke coalitions for paid internships, more than 15,000 students will mobilize this Tuesday in several Quebec regions to demand pay for all internships, at all levels of education. Let's note that after initially rejecting this perspective, the Minister of Higher Education Hélène David billed herself "in reflection" following another day of strike and action on this subject last November 10.

Exploitation is not a vocation!
Today, students from Montreal, Sherbrooke, Trois-Rivières, Gatineau and Laval are going on strike and planning visibility actions on campuses in order to demand pay for all internships as well as protections granted by law, in particular labour standards. For Stéphanie Gilbert, a teaching student and an activist at UQO's Comité pour la rémunération des internats et des stages (CRIS-UQO), this is a sexist double standard: "Engineering students are paid when they do internships! When you do an internship in social work, nursing or teaching, why do you have to do it for free, even paying and taking out loans? Clearly, it is because there is a majority of women in these fields and their work is not recognized at its true value."

Working conditions in the public and community sectors are deteriorating for interns as well
Paid workers in the public and community sectors are not the only ones for whom working conditions are deteriorating. Interns are also greatly affected by reforms in the health sector and by cuts in the funding of public and community services for example, explained Sarina Motta, a social work student involved in University of Montreal's Comité unitaire sur le travail étudiant (CUTE-UdeM): "Interns are surely among the most affected by cuts in social services and in health. They often have to do the tasks that paid workers do not have time to do, without being paid nor benefiting from the legal protections offered by labour standards."

Reform of the Act respecting labour standards: interns want to be recognized
In the context of the Act respecting labour standards reform announced by the government in February 2017, the regional coalitions for paid internships are asking for the recognition of the status of workers for interns, as well as the repeal of the act's article legitimizing internship bosses not to pay their interns. This recognition would allow interns to obtain the legal status of workers. For Françoise Hasty, a midwifery student at UQTR, these changes would make all the difference: "We are very precarious as interns. In addition to working for free, we are not protected by the CNESST nor in cases of sexual harassment. It's a very big deal!" That is why the Montreal coalition for paid internships is also calling for a demonstration against sexual violence at school and during internships on March 8th.

STUDENT UNIONS ON STRIKE ON FEBRUARY 20TH

• Association des étudiantes et des étudiants de la faculté des sciences de l'éducation de l'UQAM (ADEESE-UQAM)
• Association des étudiant.e.s en travail social de l'UQAM (AETS-UQAM)
• Association étudiante du module d'éducation de l'UQO (AÉMÉ-UQO)
• Association étudiante du module des sciences sociales de l'UQO (AEMSS-UQO)
• Association étudiante du module d'arts dramatiques de l'UQAM (AÉMAD-UQAM)
• Association étudiante du service social de l'Université de Montréal (AESSUM)
• Association des étudiantes sages-femmes du Québec (AESFQ-UQTR)
• Regroupement des étudiants et étudiantes en travail social de l'UQO (REETS-UQO)
• Association générale des étudiants et étudiantes de la faculté d'éducation de l'Université de Sherbrooke (AGEEFEUS)
• Association générale étudiante en éducation physique et kinésiologie de l'Université de Sherbrooke (AGEEP-UdeS)
• Association générale étudiante de la faculté des lettres et sciences humaines de l'Université de Sherbrooke (AGEFLESH-UdeS)

Actions are also planned at Cégep de Saint-Laurent and Cégep du Vieux-Montréal.

The regional coalitions for paid internships have been created in recent months by student associations, unions and student groups in order to coordinate the struggle for full pay and decent working conditions for all students on internships, at any level of study. These coalitions contribute through this struggle to a necessary renewal of the student movement which wants to be more inclusive and regionally rooted. You can also follow the Global Intern Strike via the hashtag #GlobalInternStrike.

SOURCE Coalition montréalaise pour la rémunération des stages

Regional spokespersons: Montreal: Sarina Motta: 514-546-8681; Gatineau : Stéphanie Gilbert (media contact: Mélodie Pelletier, [email protected], 819-201-0931); Trois-Rivières : Françoise Hasty: 581-777-3879