"Why Is It Difficult To Pay Bare Minimum": Reddit Post On India's "Free Work Culture" Goes Viral

A Reddit post highlighting the exploitative culture of unpaid internships in India's tech sector has triggered a discussion online. In his post titled 'Free Work Culture In India | Why is it so Difficult To Pay For Work ??', the young developer recalled how, after applying for a remote internship in Flutter development, he was given a technical assignment with a strict two-day deadline. The task was completed on time, per the requirements set out in the job posting, which had explicitly mentioned a stipend of Rs 8,000 to Rs 10,000 per month. 

The Redditor said that the job seemed promising as the company reached out to him to discuss the working environment and benefits. However, when he asked a simple and valid question regarding his stipend, the call ended in silence. "I haven't heard from them since," the original poster wrote. 

Free Work Culture In India | Why is it so Difficult To Pay For Work ??
byu/socialblazes indevelopersIndia

Concluding his post, the user asked: "Why it's so difficult for indian managers to pay bare minimum ?? Yes we get experience but we don't feet on air. Did you guys started with free tear too ?" 

Since being shared, the post has triggered a conversation around the culture of unpaid internships. 

"It's a literal scam . There are posts with descriptions - By applying to this job you agree to work for 2 weeks without any pay to give us time to assess your work and then they will pay you based on the work . I am guessing they never hire anyone and get someone else for another 2 weeks," wrote one user. 

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"I am working on a 5k per month internship, coz the manager knew i'm in last sem and need a 6 month internship for clg degree. exploitation at its peak," shared another. 

"Don't fall for you'll get experience and optimize for learning crap. No matter how experienced person says it, it is a scam to get free or cheap labour. First they'll say work for free, optimize for learning and all, then they will say your last pay + 20-30% hike," commented a third. 

"The problem of the Indian "uncle" mindset is they want to see progress in the nation without allowing for any. For instance, 20-30 years ago internships were not a thing, and even if they were, it would be free. Our uncles starting salary would be 5-7k per month. The irony is that 20 years later, Infosys still offers 3lpa to freshers. Hence alot of these uncles want to see progress in the freshers of today's world but don't want encourage them to progress," wrote another.