The SKWAWKBOX has been covering the saga of ‘centrist’ MP Chuka Umunna’s advert for an unpaid intern – including his defence of the ad, a rebuke from the Labour leader’s office and comments from the student who first revealed it, who described it as:
an employer expecting a student to take out a student loan to work for them.
Umunna is one of a number of MPs part of Progress, a Blairite pressure group that has persistently tried to resist Labour’s change of direction – and return to its roots – under Jeremy Corbyn. And it seems the apple hadn’t fallen far from the tree.
Progress has advertised on the W4MP (Working for an MP) website for what Labour staffer Frankie Leach described as an ‘entire comms and events team powered purely by unpaid Labour:
The ad – which went up yesterday, when the story about Umunna’s unpaid labour was already in wide circulation – suggests that Progress might have learned from Umunna’s situation and tweaked its language accordingly. It asks for ‘volunteers’ rather than interns:
However, ‘organis[ing] flagship events’ or acting as a sub-editor are not usually casual volunteer roles, so it looks like a ‘walks like a duck’ situation – especially when the ad describes ‘successful candidates’. The W4MP site adds a note at the bottom that because the role is voluntary, there should be no set hours and applicants should be ‘free to come and go as you wish’. However, the actual Progress advert makes no such clarification.
Ms Leach was unimpressed, pointing out that the comparable Class think-tank pays over ten pounds an hour with guaranteed hours – although Class differs in at least one important respect:
Pete MacLeod of the Living Wage Interns campaign backed by the Living Wage Foundation was also unimpressed, telling the SKWAWKBOX:
Hiring an entire team of unpaid interns doesn’t seem like ‘progress’ – it’s quite the opposite. Such positions can only attract those that can afford to give their time for free and excludes those that can’t. Progress needs to re-think how this fits with their centre-left aims and instead offer the real living wage.
MacLeod – himself a former unpaid intern – went on:
Politicians should be leading by example and not exploiting the fact some young people can afford to work for free and others cannot. Unpaid internships reduce the pool of candidates that can afford to apply so they are bad for employers as well as for young people. We also need internships that pay the living wage to reflect the spiralling living costs that young people are facing.
Progress has been contacted for comment. Chuka Umunna has so far failed to apologise for seeking unpaid workers and is believed to be pressing ahead with the ‘recruitment’.
Edit: Progress Director Richard Angell responded:
Progress has gone through considerable changing in the last year and our central task of renewing the centre-left in Labour has become more important than ever. People have been coming forward to volunteer to help ensure our success – to get out of London and do more events, increase our social media impact and hear from a greater range of voices.
Like many good causes with a social purpose, we have created a structured way that people can volunteer. All of which are tasks that can be done in people’s free time, not from an office or specific location. The volunteer is free to change their mind or opt out of any commitments.
Progress was one of the first groups to stop unpaid internship and supports changes in the law to ensure this is not just best practice but common Place.
If people wish to volunteer with Progress – in their own time and in a location of their choosing – we look forward to hearing from them. The experience included training and all reasonable expenses will be covered.
Pete MacLeod set up the Living Wage Interns website after being frustrated that unpaid internships were still being advertised 10 years after he had graduated. The website only lists internships that pay the real living wage.
Comment:
Many left-wing Labour members have long considered that Progress is an organisation whose aims and values are incompatible with those of a genuine Labour Party. Union leaders and others have called for the organisation to be ‘proscribed’.
Given the warning sent by the Labour leader’s office yesterday to all MPs reminding them that such unpaid positions are contrary to Labour policy, this is just one of a string of issues that should have Jeremy Corbyn and the Labour National Executive Committee thinking hard about whether Progress and its ally Labour First have any place in the democratic, member-driven movement that the party is becoming.
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Have they done this in response to yesterday, to cause trouble or just to get some free advertising for their group among Labour members?
Labour First and Progress, are the opposite of a Socialist Labour Party!
Their thinking is to far “RIGHT”!
They should be ostracized from our “LEFT THINKING PARTY”.
Given no quarter or party money to speak anymore “DRIVEL” to those who would listen!
This looks like an organised challenge to Labour manifesto commitments and Corbyn by Progress/neoliberals to me. First Umunna flies the kite then Progress ways in.
That should be weighs in not ways in.
You can expect these positions to be filled by the children of the elite playing at being socialist. Progress isn’t expecting ordinary people to apply for these post and if they did they wouldn’t get them. They want to try and create foot troops to prepare for the next 10 years. The best thing the ordinary membership can do is call for progress and loby groups like the friends of Israel to be banned from the party.
My guess is that they’ve seen the writing on the wall and decided to split.
Rather than look like the petulant self-servatives they are though they’ll claim they were forced into it by the outrageous behaviour of Jennie and the Corbynistas (feat. Akala)
I said it was a guess 🙂
This is Progress sticking two fingers up yours to the leadership and Corbyn.
Now it’s time for the whips and the leadership office to crack down hard on them they’ve had the warning and decided to be petulant so a bloody good smack is what’s needed
Just give the useless twunt umunna the heave-ho and see how brave his progress mates are then.
Chuka ‘Sweater’ Ummuma then Progress ‘Make Haste and Floggit!’
‘Chuka Umunna has so far failed to apologise for seeking unpaid workers and is believed to be pressing ahead with the ‘recruitment’.
Anyone submitted a formal complaint about this yet? If not, why not? I said it was a FLAGRANT violation of party policy when I first heard of it this morning; it’s beyond debate if umunna goes ahead – or even plans on doing so.
And no surprise there’s been no apology. Well there’s a well-known phrase applies here:
‘Spare the rod, spoil the child(ren)’…
First he begs grayling to make homelessness a criminal offence; and now he wants people to work for him, gratis?
Slime.
And even his fkin ridiculous name is synonymous with ultra-toffism. Unless you want to use the other description – boot.
GIVE CHUKKA THE BOOT HE DESERVES.
Chuka is a Nigerian first name. Umunna is a Nigerian surname. Ridiculous?
Not cool 🙁
Until we have compulsory re-selection, CLPs should remember this:
http://novaramedia.com/2016/07/13/how-can-i-deselect-my-labour-mp-a-short-guide-to-reselection-and-democratic-accountability/
Since Lord Sainsbury has stopped donating about £260k per year to Progress things must be difficult for them. Before the belt-tightening their 2016 accounts said they had 6 employees, with the Director according to the 2015 accounts being remunerated around £50k. Seems they want to keep the level of activity up without using paid staff!