British journalists union calls for government probe of exploitation of interns

The National Union of Journalists in Great Britain has called for a government investigation into the exploitation of people on "work experience" in the British media; this is what we tend to call "internships" here. According to a story in the Guardian, Jeremy Dear, the NUJ general secretary, said the union had collected evidence that "some very big names" in the media sector were in breach of minimum wage law.

Mr Dear today delivered a letter to Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs naming and shaming employers which the union claims exploit journalists on work experience and discussed the issue with HMRC officials.

The NUJ, which is also today launching its work experience guidelines, is demanding that the government investigate breaches of national minimum wage legislation and take action to force media companies to comply.

Mr Dear's allegations are based on the results of a recent NUJ survey of work placements, which the unions claims revealed "shocking exploitation".

The NUJ is asking journalists who feel they have been badly treated during work experience to email the details to nameandshame@nuj.org.uk so that the union can pass them on to government.