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They work in an underground economy, receiving no wages in return for their skills and labour.

They often feel compelled to take on these unpaid internships — daily work for months long terms — in the hopes of acquiring on the job experience that employers expect when they hire new recruits for paid positions.

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But these workers are not students who receive academic credit for their labours. They are unpaid interns who simply work for free, something that is illegal in most provinces.

But in Alberta, observers say murky language in the law offers employers wiggle room to hire interns without compensating them with pay or academic credit.

The former Progressive Conservative government had promised last year to clarify the rules in a revamped employment standards code. But the changes never made it through the legislature in a year of political upheaval, with three premiers and two Jobs ministers serving in 2014.