SHENZHEN, CHINA – Amir Robinson, 24, quit his unpaid internship with a small Canadian television station last week for a much better paying position assembling wallets in an overseas sweatshop.
“I’m making literally infinity percent more,” Robinson said. “And since the cost of living is so low, I can cover my bus fare and still afford to eat. This was impossible when I was interning for free.”
Robinson, who was able to continue the interview after ducking his foreman’s whip, also praised the company for offering its employees basic accommodations as part of its generous employment package.
“I live right upstairs from where I work! It’s pure luxury compared to my parent’s basement,” he said while enthusiastically obtaining his daily ration of salt and rice. “China’s great. Everyone here gets paid at least something and there’s very little nepotism in the manufacturing industry.”
“By next month I’ll already have a shot at being head of Quality and Efficiency Control for the wallet-stitching department,” Robinson continued. “It pays 1 Yuan more per day. The boss said he would never ever consider hiring his daughter to do this job.”
Chief of Operations, Xiang Xu, confirmed the company’s anti-nepotism practices.
“We prefer to send our sons and daughters overseas, where they can gain practical experience working unpaid internships with big North American companies.”
With files by Keith Cochrane.
