**TRS Editorial Piece**
The work-place bullying incident brought to light a number of issues. One of the things that came to light was the fact that the intern was only paid $500 - $600 a month.
TRS Reader Gary felt that this is definitely far too little and recalled how 10 years ago, he was also receiving about $500 a month as an intern in an MNC.
“Why are they still receiving this amount as allowances when the cost of living in Singapore had risen so much as compared to 10 years ago.” He said.
“I feel the Tertiary Institutions should review this allowance structure and fight for better allowance for the interns. These interns are not a source of cheap labour.”
He also commented that many interns actually do the same amount of work as other full-time employees but are exploited and paid only a fraction of their full-time counterparts.
Although interns are not usually thought to be properly qualified and still learning, does this justify not giving them benefits like paid medical leave?
TRS Gary thought that this is truly unfair. “I would like to urge all Tertiary Institutions to review their Internship Contacts to root out these irresponsible companies and protect the right of the Interns by giving them fair employment. MOM & MOE should also look into any grievances of these interns.”
Some students that TRS spoke to reported that they work the same hours as full-time workers in their companies.
Singapore has long been known to opperate on meritocracy, so it might be normal to expect that while you still have not completed your degree, you should be paid less for work. Is this the correct mindset or is it simply exploitation of a 'cheap' form of labour?