A façade for student workplace exploitation?
Prestigious degree qualifications from well-known universities are no longer sufficient in the Sri Lankan labour market, or in most other countries. Thus, initiated the ‘internship’ trend. A short-term temporary position within an organisation for students (college, undergraduate or postgraduate) to experience the workplace culture, structure and work patterns. An intern is either paid or not paid- depending on the employer. Sri Lankan labour market has grown to be highly competitive. Universities are introducing part- time degrees to address market trends, and the need for experience is ever more so important now. For students, an internship is a foot through the door into the corporate sector. And most of these students are banking their future on this internship.
As a nation, it’s certainly satisfying to see a cadre of highly dedicated young citizens. But with every new trend follows a trail of problems. Interestingly, a majority of institutions responsible has not even batted an eye. Likely that student themselves and the responsible institutions are unaware of the symptoms to determine an issue. What really causes students to juggle work with studies? Do they benefit from internships? And most importantly, who is responsible for student employees: Shop and Office Employees Act, the Government, Employer/ Organisation or the students themselves? And are they legally protected?
An optimist might believe there are rules people understand are rules in society, but what happens when those rules are overstepped and there are no rules to protect the innocent? Or in this case, the working student.
The Shop and Of f i c e Employees Act of 1954, is the legal legislation to protect the workers of Sri Lanka. As to the act, ‘ the normal period during which any person may be employed in or about the business of any shop or office-(a) on any one day shall not exceed eight hours, and (b) in any one week shall not exceed forty-five hours’ (Law 7 of 1975, Shop and Office Employees Act,1954). However, an intern does not fall into the category of an employee and they are working past the ‘normal working hours’. Is there a loophole in our legal system, where it fails to identify student employment as a reality?
A sample of 50 undergraduate student employees (part-time or full-time studies in paid internship/ employment) was approached from in and around the Colombo Suburbs. Around 58% of these employed students work to gain experience, 23% cover expenses, 10% for social need and 7% to cover tuition fees. World Bank statistics indicate a high underemployment rate among young people in Sri Lanka, particularly those who are better educated. And an increasing number of Sri Lankan universities are providing students with internships as a compulsory module. Weighing in these factors, and the competitive labour market, foreign employments and flood of graduates, students are pressured to find employment- regardless of life or social constraints.
Digging deeper into the work and study of students, the research indicated strong social and personal impediments. It’s essential to question, the working hours of these students and the implications for their life, health and wellbeing. A rough majority of the students work between 40 to 50 hours. Although bear in mind that 82% of the sample are part- time undergraduates. Regardless, committing 40 hours to employment, with at least 3- 4 hours of travelling per day is certainly going to cut back on study time. “Combining work and study has caused me to have anxiety attacks, to the point where I struggle to sleep”, although an outsider might not realise, these students are suffer- ing deep mental trauma. Sadly neither they nor the responsible institutions have understood this growing issue. It’s important to understand that students themselves are still attempting to understand their own role in the society and thrusting a large amount of work will lead to suffocation. The impact of this competitive culture is not widely visible in the Sri Lankan society yet, but words of suicide and physiological stress are no longer a myth but an approaching reality.
“I have to stay behind (at work) and at the moment I have missed (2-3) lectures”. Whilst there are students who skip lectures by their own means, these students are facing a tradeoff. Be sacked or let education slip.
“Sometimes I sleep here (workplace)…I have slept at the workplace on two occasions”. This might be fine for a male student, but culturally, a female student would face multiple issues. Obviously, no Sri Lankan parent is happy letting their daughter stay over at work- “my parents want me home early, at least around 8 pm, so I take my work home and work through the night”. Some individuals might think its fine to take work home, we all do, but these are students- they are committing to studies and employment. As work matters take more time, study time is drained. Are there consequences? Certainly, those who can’t commit to working “get paid less” or “don’t have a life”.
Employees are of course highly satisfied with the current system. They are gifted with thousands of students competing for a position within their organisation, willing to work through the night for barely labourers pay or no pay at all, with high dedication. Whilst some students believe the system is there to help them gain experience, others have understood their mistreatments. However, these students are struggling to find a voice. A voice within a nation where this issue has never been discussed or even identified.
If a country does not protect its next generation, then it’s obvious where we are headed.
This research was only conducted to identify the first layer of issues. But it’s like an onion, there are numerous layers to the issue. From this research it’s very clear students are struggling to balance study, work and life roles. In the current competitive labour market environment, students are pushed towards these roles regardless of their own intentions. Although further research is needed to determine exact implications on health, lifestyle and education, current information suggests such problems does exist. The intention here is to draw attention to the issue and create a cooperation between the government, organisation and Higher Education Institutes to better understand current issues.