• Debate ignited by Nailab's Sam Gichuru's tweet about unpaid internships.
• Career Point Kenya says the rights of an intern are dependent on their employment status.
Image: MONICAH MWANGI
There's a furious debate among Kenyans on Twitter about whether interns should be paid.
Some work hard, they're talented, they learn and soak up knowledge — whether paid or unpaid.
Some just aren't up to scratch - paid or unpaid.
The debate on paying interns was triggered by Nailab CEO Sam Gichuru who tweeted, "Let's talk about paid/unpaid internship. The founder/ CEO of @herdy_co was my unpaid intern, after internship (3 months) he started his company & today hires over 10 people, servers over 1,000 customers monthly. I also invested in his company. It's just been 36 months.
"He is not the only one who interned at @thenailab and today is running their own company or have very good jobs. Some were paid, some unpaid. If he had asked for pay, I would not have given him a chance. He was actually very specific, he said No Pay," the thread continued.
He went on to say most SMEs don't have the budget to hire and even Sh5,000 per month can strain a company.
"But they have the knowledge, have networks (employees, customers, suppliers), have resources, internet/computers etc. Your opportunity is here. Invest in yourself to access those resources.”
While there are some organisations that pay their interns, others do not.
This paid/unpaid intern debate is about graduate entitlement culture I wrote about here. Vocational skills are acquired mostly through apprenticeships. Apprentices are not paid, they pay.David Ndii
According to Career Point Kenya, the rights of an intern are dependent on their employment status.
"An intern who is classed as a 'worker' has a right to the national minimum wage," a recent article by the jobs site said.
“An intern who does regular paid work for an employer may qualify as an employee and become eligible for employment rights. An intern is also entitled to the national minimum wage if they count as a worker, and an employer cannot avoid paying them the national minimum wage. An intern is classified as a worker and is due to the minimum wage if they are promised a contract of future work.”
They stated that interns are not covered under the minimum wage if they are classed under school work experience, student internships, voluntary workers or are under work shadowing.
What does the law say?
The National Employment Authority Act describes an employee as a person employed for wages, including an apprentice, intern and indentured learner.
It remains unclear whether all interns are subject to the minimum wage, pay or a stipend.
For interns in the public sector, according to the Internship Policy and Guidelines for the Public Service May 2016, interns should get a stipend.
Article 2.6 reads, “Internship shall be non-remunerative. However, interns will be paid a stipend as may be determined by the Commission from time to time. MDAs will be expected to make budgetary allocation for the stipend on an annual basis.”
Article 2.9 enumerates intern entitlements as “sick leave as applicable in the prevailing regulations; annual leave; compassionate leave; stipend; and subsistence allowance when out of the station at a rate to be determined by the Commission from time to time."
KOT wades in
Kenyans on Twitter shared varying opinions, with some stating that payment terms of interns should be determined by the company and that internships are a learning opportunity.
“In my opinion... the option to pay interns should be exclusively the company's decision... I mean..You are the one gaining experience... And in most cases... interns are often ill-equipped for the job...You can’t get paid if you are there to learn. A stipend maybe,” Glenn tweeted.
We can choose to better employers who understand that what we went through once as interns wasn't right and work hard to make spaces for interning better or we can choose to inherit old harmful habits and fuel toxicity. But let's not lie about not paying people as a rule@scheafferoo
“Well, an internship should be about skills development. When you are driven by money, you can’t achieve the necessary skills and competence in your area of specialisation. This #payinterns is nonsensical,”@Asamoh_ tweeted.
Others opposed this view, stating that interns have expenses to cover as well, and not paying them could take a toll on their mental health.
“I have worked for 5 organisations in my career and all of them pay interns. Please don't justify the exploitation of interns with "providing an experience". Interns do actual work and bring in revenues to your companies. They have expenses too.” Fredrick said.
Davis tweeted, "If you can’t #payinterns at least provide transport and lunch. Anyone who has walked in these shoes clearly gets the picture. It’s one of the reasons why [depression is real] among recent graduates.”
Regius said, “[Pay interns] is about the basic minimum. And then they will say millennials are not driven, how driven were you on an empty stomach?”
“Breaks my heart to see people support no pay for interns. At the very least, it’s about upholding human dignity while facilitating learning. If everybody passes on their past suffering to others then we’re not a progressive society,” Dee said.