The Socialist 26 May 2010 Millionaire ministers butcher public services Millionaire ministers butcher public services Con-Dem cuts - 'only the beginning' National Shop Stewards Network conference: Time to organise against con/dem attacks NHS cuts: The Con-Dem sting in the tail Sri Lanka: One year after the war Socialist Party national committee discusses building the fightback PCS conference: Preparing for action Local government: Where's our pay award for 2010? Young people: organise to fight the cuts Socialist Party National Youth meeting Students must pay, say the rich Pamphlet: Our Education Under Attack: why a mass campaign is needed London 2012 Olympics: A big business spectacle Greece: 2,500 hear Socialist MEP Joe Higgins declare week of action Romania: Mass protests against EU/IMF deal Puerto Rico: Students and workers fight austerity cuts Education under attack: Con-Dem government prepares for battle Unions must defend public services Tory government says rich must pay less Diane Abbott and the Labour Party leadership battle |
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Home | The Socialist 26 May 2010 | Join the Socialist Party Young people: organise to fight the cuts Youth Fight for Jobs protest outsid the Houses of Shame, photo Alex Ivanov (Click to enlarge) The first slice of cuts under the 'Con-Dem' coalition government makes it clear that young people face a bleak future under its stewardship. But this year young people have shown they will fight back against attacks on education and also against racism and youth unemployment. Occupations and demonstrations against cuts and closures in a number of universities have seen hundreds of students take action, linking up with the UCU lecturers' union and other campus trade unions, despite aggressive management. Middlesex University students, who occupied a campus building for 12 days against the closure of the entire philosophy department, are threatened with suspension, as well as two professors. Middlesex management's reasoning is that philosophy makes "no measurable contribution" towards profits! Unfortunately the National Union of Students and many local student unions have so far absented themselves from participation, leaving students to organise themselves without help and cutting across the potential for a generalised national struggle. However, they will not be a permanent barrier. Education attackedA £200 million cut in university funding means a reduction in the previously planned increase in university places, despite predictions that applications could go up by 100,000. Funding for the mere 10,000 extra places is only committed for one year. Student fees as high as £14,000 a year have been floated during the government's review of education funding and increases in the interest on student loans are expected. £340 million in cuts in further education means whole college courses are under threat, as well as plans to cut swathes through vital areas like basic literacy and numeracy and other English courses. The Con-Dems are likely to make cuts in the Education Maintenance Allowance, a means tested grant of up to £30 a week in term time for 16-18 year old students, the privatised distribution of which has already lead to difficulties for students. It is predicted that adult learners, including many young people, will be expected to pay 50% of the cost of their courses, a huge increase on the current situation for people who have often previously been failed by the education system. At least one million fewer adults are in further education than five years ago when fees began to increase. Recent figures show further increases in unemployment among young people. One in five unemployed 18 to 24 year-olds is a graduate, with average student debt of £23,000. Graduate vacancy levels are expected to decline by a further 1.6% during 2010. The proposed civil service recruitment freeze, estimated to bring 'savings' of at least £120 million, will only exacerbate this. The TUC has criticised the ending of what the government calls "ineffective elements of employment programmes" including the 'Future Jobs Fund'. Such schemes were massively limited and did not represent a solution to mass youth joblessness. But the Tories will no doubt replace them with something worse. Thatcher's government introduced the Youth Training Scheme - a government scheme for 16 and 17 year olds which meant working full-time for a measly £27.50 a week. However, in 1985 a 250,000-strong school student strike defeated the scheme. Mass oppositionThe coalition's cuts do not diverge from the path of the previous Labour government, which was also intent on extracting the price of the economic crisis from young people's futures. These attacks and those to follow will be unendurable, not just to the thousands who have expressed their opposition so far, but to millions of young people. Socialists call for mass participation in organised opposition. Walkouts and strikes, while involving a lot of consistent preparatory work and organisation, can win the active support of the majority of students. This is what is needed to build an effective struggle against fees and cuts. Coordinating this type of action with industrial action by campus workers, combined with mass demonstrations and occupations could disrupt the cuts and fees agenda of government and university managements. The demands of the movement must be for free education and jobs for all. To win these, the absolute basics of a decent future, means fighting for a socialist alternative to the rotten profit system, based on democratic planning. The protests at Middlesex show that when the cuts come, despite the pressure of exams, students will respond. Rally in support of Middlesex campaignersThursday 27 May, 4pm onwardsMiddlesex University's Hendon campusPlease contact Socialist Students on 020 8558 7947 or on socialiststudents@hotmail.com to discuss campaign plans for now and the freshers fairs in the autumn. In this issue
National Shop Stewards Network
Socialist Party news and analysis
Socialist Party workplace news
Youth
Socialist Party feature
International socialist news and analysis
Education
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