Legal Literacy - For Generation Z, entering the workforce today feels like participating in a race where the finish line keeps being moved. Instead of receiving an employee appointment decree, many of us are trapped in a pile of internship certificates that never lead to job security. The "Eternal Internship" phenomenon has now become a new normalization, where educated young people are forced to work with high intensity, but are rewarded with wages that are often referred to with aeuphemism: "voluntary allowance."

Exploitation Disguised as Job Training

Normatively, through Regulation of the Minister of Manpower Number 6 of 2020, internships are defined as part of the job training system. The philosophy is clear: improving competence. However, the reality in gleaming office buildings to the creative industry shows a real distortion. Interns are often no longer "learning", but "replacing" the role of organic employees who should be paid dearly.

Many Gen Z individuals hold KPIs (Key Performance Indicator) as demanding as their seniors. They work overtime, meet deadlines, and manage strategic projects. However, when the end of the month arrives, the compensation they receive is not even enough to cover boarding costs or a decent lunch. The state, through existing regulations, seems to provide a "blank check" for corporations to exploit productive labor without the obligation to provide normative rights like permanent employees.