Geneva interns take part in global protest

Around 100 interns and supporters protested outside the United Nations European headquarters on Monday as part of a global initiative to highlight the plight of unpaid internships. Similar protests have been taking place in New York, Washington, Brussels and Vienna. In Geneva, interns from the UN, and various international agencies and non-governmental organisations gathered at the Place des Nations square, together with employers, unions and students to call for ‘equal access to fair, ‘quality internships’. “I’m protesting in solidarity with the people who cannot afford to be here,” said Jaime, a 22-year-old British man who is completing a three-month internship at the World Health Organization (WHO) in the Swiss city. “We need to make ourselves heard and show the level of support we have from different sectors…and show that we have basic rights as employed staff.” In 2014, there were an estimated 4,000 UN interns in New York and Geneva, mostly unpaid.

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