Say no to youth unemployment

We demand a future!

JOIN THE MARCH FOR JOBS

On 2 April the G20 - the leaders of the world's 20 major world powers - will be meeting in Watford. Young people and trade unionists will be marching from central London to meet them - demanding a future.

If you would like to join the march, and if your trade union branch would like to support it, go to www.youthfightforjobs.com

Youth fight for jobs conference

The March for Jobs will be followed by a conference, on Saturday 4 April in London, to launch Youth Fight for Jobs. We are appealing to trade unions and youth organisations to send delegates. Every young person who wants to fight on this issue should come along. If you don't want to see young people thrown on the scrapheap - join Youth Fight for Jobs.

Model motion for trade unions

We call on the TUC to build a campaign against the looming catastrophe of unemployment.

To combat unemployment the TUC should campaign for:

Opposition to all job cuts. Share out the work without loss of pay.
Instead of bailing out the banks with billions of tax payers' money the government should nationalise the whole of the banking and finance system under full public control.
Any company that declares redundancies or plant closures should be nationalised and taken into public ownership.
Companies threatening job cuts and closures should be forced to open their books to trade union scrutiny to see where the profits have gone.
An end to 'concession bargaining' with the employers.
A vigorous defence of wages and conditions.

The TUC should organise a national demonstration on this programme as soon as possible and support the youth march for jobs.

We are fighting for:

The right to a decent job for all, with a living wage of at least £8 an hour.
No to cheap labour apprenticeships! All apprentices to be paid at least the minimum wage, with a guaranteed job at the end.
No to university fees, support the campaign to defeat fees.

Trade union sponsors

Initial trade union sponsors: Andrew Price, UCU Wales EC; Bernard Roome, CWU NEC; Chris Baugh, PCS assistant general secretary; Gary Jones, CWU NEC; Glenn Kelly, Unison NEC; Jane Aitchison, PCS DWP section president; Janice Godrich, PCS president; Jean Thorpe, Unison NEC; John McInally, PCS NEC; Judy Griffiths, CWU Coventry BT branch secretary; Onay Kasab, Unison Greenwich branch secretary; Katrine Williams, PCS Wales chair; Kevin Greenway, PCS NEC; Marion Lloyd, PCS NEC; Mark Baker, PCS NEC; Martin Powell Davies, NUT Lewisham branch secretary; Rob Williams, PCS NEC; Robbie Segal, Usdaw NEC; Roger Bannister, Unison NEC; Stan Herschel RMT north east regional organiser (all in personal capacity).

Youth unemployment is predicted to reach 1.25 million in 2009. 40% of all those who have so far been thrown out of work are under 25. New Labour's only answer is slave labour training schemes.

Hannah Sell, Socialist Party deputy general secretary, reports

Ten thousand young people are to be 'trained' by McDonalds. Others are expected to work for free. Thirty-three local councils are taking on thousands of young 'volunteers' who will not be paid a penny and have no guarantee of a job.

Going to university is no escape. Graduates leave university with an average of £22,000 debt, including those who have worked part-time while they study. Many then face unemployment. The government's solution: slave-labour 'internships' where graduates work for £4,500 a year!

New Labour has found billions of pounds to bail out the banks but it is spending peanuts on saving workers' jobs. Workers in Britain are expected to work 'till they drop' with the longest working hours in the EU. We demand that the work is shared out - with the immediate implementation of a 35-hour week without loss of pay.

We call for a massive government programme of investment in socially useful jobs. For example, there are five million people who want decent public housing, but there are almost no houses available.

At the same time there are enough bricks stockpiled to build a city the size of Nottingham.
A major public programme of house building could create many thousands of jobs.