Bevan spinning in his grave!

HT to Ieu Rhos for bringing this little gem to our attention. It concerns that Social Justice Think Tank for Wales, the Bevan Foundation, which produces reports on er...social justice! Their most recent report is the Working All Hours: The part-time poverty trap; read on and the irony of the title will not be lost on you!

Not only do staff at the Bevan Foundation write reports but they also offer internships which in turn offer unique experiences in, amongst other things social policy in Wales...presumably that includes 'minimum wage and low pay'

If that is the case perhaps they would care to explain why they are advertising TWO internships where the benefits are described as:

We will make a modest contribution to the cost of food and travel to a maximum of £10 per day. You will be based at our purpose-built office in Ebbw Vale, which is about 50 mins drive from Cardiff (we have a free on-site car park) or 50 mins by hourly rail service from Cardiff Central. The office is also served by buses between Ebbw Vale and Newport and local services.

Perhaps the Bevan Foundation need to seek advice from the TUC and the CIPD on employment law:

The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) is so concerned that employers may be breaking the law on internships that it recently issued guidance to them.

Under the minimum wage legislation, a person must be paid if they are doing genuine and productive work.

The only exception is when someone is classified as a volunteer, which means they do not have set hours, and they are free to be absent whenever they wish.

Tom Richmond, from the CIPD, said the law was totally clear.

"If employees are contributing to the workplace, if they are doing work for you, you have to pay them the minimum wage," he said.

One recent case that was taken to court has shown that magistrates and judges are more than willing to punish employers who have broken the law, and to award compensation to the victims.

Whether it is the global businesses of the city of London or a so called "socialist" think tank in Labour's heartlands, unpaid internships is still worker exploitation.

The great man would indeed be spinning in his grave!