Youth Fight for Jobs says escalate protests for the scrapping of ‘workfare’ and the creation of decent jobs!


Budget day protest and summer demo

Following a series of retreats by the government on its flagship ‘work experience’ schemes, campaigners plan to keep up the pressure on the government to scrap all ‘workfare’ projects.

We call on them to instead unroll a programme for job creation. Youth Fight for Jobs (YFJ) has called a protest outside parliament as well as actions across the country on Budget Day – 21st March.

YFJ has also put out a call for an urgent meeting of trade unions and campaigners against workfare (YFJ, Boycott Workfare, Right to Work etc) to discuss jointly calling a mass united demonstration against unemployment and slave labour in the summer.

Youth Fight for Jobs national organiser Paul Callanan said:

“On budget day, when the coalition government announce what will undoubtedly be more of the same slash and burn approach to jobs and services, they will feel the hot breath of angry youth, workers and the unemployed and the disabled, demanding the right to decent jobs – not the slave labour of ‘workfare’.

“The government’s recent retreats on the ‘work experience’ scheme, including having been forced to remove the threat of benefit sanctions, show the effect that protest can have.

“Now we are pressing for the Con-Dems to drop all schemes involving the unemployed taking part in unpaid labour.

“Instead we call on them to take a serious approach to the scourge of unemployment, implementing a programme of job creation not the current job destruction”.

Youth Fight for Jobs spokesperson Claire Laker-Mansfield said:

“We are leading the call for a mass demonstration in the summer against workfare and mass unemployment.

“Internationally, including this week in Spain, we are seeing young people protesting in their tens of thousands demanding a future.

“We hope to see that spirit in Britain in the summer with thousands marching through the streets of London fighting for real jobs, not slave labour!”

Paul Callanan and Claire Laker-Mansfield are available for interview: call 0208 558 7947 or 07757207289

From a Youth Fight for Jobs press release

For details of workfare protests:

See website: www.youthfightforjobs.com

On Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Youth-Fight-for-Jobs/293131194070357

On Twitter: www.twitter.com/youthfight4jobs