CEGEP students protesting unpaid internships

Striking CEGEP students will hold a demonstration in Montreal on Wednesday afternoon to protest against unpaid internships. Thousands of CEGEP students are on strike across the province this week as part of pressure tactics to obtain pay for mandatory internships and to ensure that their working conditions are covered by Quebec’s labour standards law. Amelie Poirier, an activist with the committee, known by its French acronym CUTE, said unpaid internships are most common in fields of study where women form the majority. “It’s everything that has to do with care, particularly social work, teaching, nursing, sexology, daycare,” she said. Classes were cancelled at Cégep du Vieux-Montréal Monday as students staged a strike over unpaid internships that are required by many courses such as nursing or teaching. Hundreds of students picketed in front of the school early Monday morning on the first day of a five-day strike. Classes and internships were also cancelled at Cégep Marie-Victorin in Montreal North this week after students voted to not attend classes. “The administration respects the rights of the student union, such as freedom of expression and the right to peaceful picketing,” administrators said in a statement. Students will also be picketing this week outside Cégep Saint-Laurent and at CEGEPs in Quebec City, Rimouski and in the Outaouais. Over the weekend, the strike received the backing of the student association representing McGill University’s medical students. “Many students are obligated to complete internships to obtain their diploma, but these students are excluded from the labour standards law so they don’t have any control over their working conditions,” the association said in a statement. The student protest starts at Place Émilie- Gamelin at 3 p.m. on Wednesday. Quebec Education Minister Jean-Francois Roberge said the Coalition Avenir Québec government is already moving to address the issue of unpaid internships. He noted that when in opposition, the party favoured pay for internships in teaching and psychology. Roberge said this week’s pressure tactics are premature. “The students are kind of kicking down doors that are open,” he said. “We are at work to assess the situation and then put things on the table that we will discuss with the student associations.” But Sandrine Boisjoli, another student activist, said the co-ordinating committee is prepared to escalate its tactics in January. “If by the end of this week, we have not obtained pay for all internships, in all fields, an unlimited general strike will be declared in the winter of 2019,” she said. A general strike would require another vote by student associations.