Tony Blair refuses to pay student teacher intern
TONY Blair has been using interns at his mega-millions empire of peace-thru-banking. On the website Graduate Frog, we learn of a graduate who scored a three-month internship at Tony Blair’s private office. Good news. Tone opens doors. But the graduate would be required to work unpaid for five days a week. He could do four but not five. Working five days would mean the graduate forgoing his part-time job as a teaching assistant.
Tony Blair’s office told him via email:
“Sorry…the role has now been filled by someone who was available for the full 5 days.”
The graduate says:
“I was elated when I was offered the internship with Tony Blair’s private office – he was my idol growing up and it seemed like the opportunity of a lifetime to work for a former prime minister. I was distraught when the offer was later retracted, after I realised that I would have to give up my part-time job in order to work full-time without a salary. London is one of the most expensive cities in the world and I realised my rent and travel costs alone would amount to over £550 a month. There was no way that the lunch and travel expenses offered would cover that.
“Even though the internship sounded like a huge opportunity, I just couldn’t afford to give up my only source of income. It would have been amazing for my CV and my future prospects. It’s very disappointing that that a prime minister who dedicated himself to equal opportunity for all has effectively made this internship available only to those who don’t need to be paid to work.”
It does seem churlish of Blair to offer the job and not accommodate the chap, especially since he is keen on teaching, a career Blair once saw a crucial social building block. But, then, the workplace is competitive. Someone else could do the job as advertised. Sad that the “opportunity of a lifetime” could not have been covered by a lending bank or weekend work.
Still, Tony’s son managed it.
In 2006, Euan Blair, the prime minister’s eldest son, got a job working as an intern for Republican politicians in Washington DC. Euan had a degree in ancient history. In 2005, young Euan worked as an intern at a French radio station owned by billionaire Bernard Arnault, who had been a guest of Tony Blair’s at Chequers, the Prime Minster’s country residence. In 2007, Euan scored an internship at Morgan Stanley.
Euan Blair might not have had all his travel expenses paid by the employer. But he might have gotten a free lunch.
We are no enemies of nepotism. It’s very much case of good for you if you’re lucky enough to have family to help out. What’s odd is that Blair introduced the minimum wage and has made a fortune trading on contacts he made while Prime Minister. Can he not reach into his big pockets to get the best and brightest worker who views an internship as crucial for a white-collar career?
Posted: 26th, October 2012 | In: Politicians Comments (2) | TrackBack | Permalink
