The world has advanced a lot in all areas, and we have no option but to adapt to the moving train of change.

Some months ago, I came across a controversial post on Facebook about a lady who said that since she paid to learn a craft in a workshop, the owner of the workshop does not have the right to subject her to any other work that is not related to what she paid for, such as sweeping or any other duties apprentices do in their learning centers. She argued that the owner of the place is meant to serve her since she paid for the teaching services she is to receive.

You see how the world has grown? A lot of people supported what she said and agreed that things should be done that way, compared to the conventional method we were used to.

Should interns in a company be paid?

The truth is, the world has advanced a lot, and there has been significant exposure on this issue with regard to how the nature and input of interns used to be in companies. Hold on, is there really any difference in the input of interns compared to those days and how it is now? Yes, there is, and a whole lot. When properly examined, the demand for interns to be paid while working with a company is very necessary.

Consider this situation:

An intern decided to take up the duty of a media manager in a company because he loves social media. Meanwhile, there was a staff member assigned to that role, but the staff member was not very committed to the work since they also had another major task. The intern grew the company’s Instagram account from 600 followers to 400,000 in the space of four months. He was not being paid; he was simply doing it out of his passion for media. Meanwhile, the main staff member assigned to the task was collecting a monthly salary for it. At one point, the intern requested to be paid, but the company refused and told him to submit the login details of the account and log out. Out of anger, he permanently deleted the Instagram account.

That was harsh of him, right? That is true, but the company also messed up or don't you think so?

Although this incident did not actually happen to an intern, I used it to illustrate how interns contribute significantly to the growth of a company while being there primarily to learn. It is only responsible for companies to pay them. Although it may not be the same salary as that of full-time staff, they should still receive a reasonable amount.

This situation also occurs in the NYSC scheme. Most corps members, when assigned to a school to serve the nation and also gain experience, give their best. However, many private firms do not take responsibility for paying them for their services. Back when I did my service, we were supposed to be paid a small amount by the private school, but they withheld it and kept giving excuses. Meanwhile, we were the face of the school during that period because we handled almost everything. When we stopped going as a form of protest, they felt the impact and quickly decided to pay us.

Thanks for reading.

Photo: Chatgpt