Photo courtesy of flickr user Adam Fagen via Creative Commons.

Anqi Shen 
CUP Ontario Bureau Chief

HAMILTON (CUP) — Ontario legislation that protects workers against unsafe working conditions does not cover unpaid interns, according to a Ministry of Labour briefing that has recently surfaced.

The confidential memo, dated March 27, 2013 and discovered by the Toronto Star, explains that the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) defines ‘worker’ as “a person who performs work or supplies services for monetary compensation.”

“This definition would exclude unpaid interns (students, trainees, volunteers) from OHSA coverage,” the internal briefing states.

The policy is now under review by the Ministry of Labour.

“We are reviewing the rules for co-op students under Ontario’s Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) to ensure they have all the same rights and protections as other workers,” Minister of Labour Yasir Naqvi said in a release.

Naqvi’s statement did not address unpaid interns recruited illegally —a significant but undocumented number of workers who are also not protected under the OHSA. In Ontario, unpaid internships are illegal unless six criteria are met.

Joel Duff, communications director for the Ontario Federation of Labour, expressed concerns about the extent to which interns can hold their employers accountable for workplace safety.

“If workers feel unsafe in their workplace, they have the right to refuse work. An intern can technically refuse work, but their internship would be cancelled and they wouldn’t get their academic credit,” Duff said.

“An intern, because they’re the newest or least experienced person in a company, is the most vulnerable to health and safety hazards.”

There are no concrete statistics on unpaid internships in Canada, nor are internships federally regulated. Recent estimates suggest there are as many as 300,000 unpaid internships in the country.