On March 20 the European Commission published set of two measures to improve working conditions for trainees, which includes a proposal for a Directive on improving and enforcing working conditions for trainees and combatting regular employment relationships disguised as traineeships as well as a proposal to revise the non-bincing 2014 Council Recommendation on a Quality Framework for Traineeships to address issues of quality and inclusiveness, such as fair pay and access to social protection.

CESI Youth salutes in particular the new ‘Traineeships Directive’ with its objective to facilitate and promote fair employment practices for trainees in the EU, while combatting current exploitative practices. It highlights the importance of ensuring that traineeships should serve their intended purpose: to provide valuable learning experiences and skills development opportunities for individuals transitioning into the labour market. By setting out to improve and enforce working conditions for trainees, the proposed Directive aims to safeguard their rights, prevent exploitation, and promote fair employment practices.

Key measures include above all:

1. Enhanced working conditions: the proposed Directive sets out provisions to establish minimum standards for working conditions during traineeships, including remuneration, working hours and access to social protection. It includes clear defining criteria to distinguish genuine traineeships from employment relationships. It emphasises the importance of Member States to ensure oversight on the application of the labour.
2. Mitigated exploitative employment practices: Recognising the prevalence of disguised regular employment relationships as traineeships, the proposed Directive seeks to introduce measures to prevent such abuses. This includes clear defining criteria to distinguish genuine traineeships from employment relationships. Although the text of the proposal is ambitions, there is serious concern whether national labour inspectorates can deal with the task of differentiating and discovering fake first entry jobs disguised as traineeships and to enforce good conditions for those trainees, as the proposal envisages.
3. Strengthened enforcement mechanisms: To ensure effective implementation, the proposed Directive puts forward measures to enhance relevant monitoring and enforcement mechanisms at both national and EU levels. This may involve cooperation between relevant authorities and stakeholders to oversee compliance with the Directive’s provisions.

CESI Secretary General Klaus Heeger said: “The proposed new Traineeships Directive is poised to bring about several positive outcomes for trainees: improved working conditions through fair remuneration and adequate social protection, a better prevention of exploitation, and in the long term more fairness and equity through a level playing field for both trainees and employers’.

CESI Youth Representative Matthäus Fandrejewski said: “The proposed Directive aligns with the EU’s commitment to ensuring decent work and social justice for all individuals in the labour market. However, it could have been more ambitions in terms of banning unpaid internships, in line with a campaign of the European Youth Forum.”

Further information about the position of CESI and CESI Youth on traineeships is available here.