Seven Sisters, north London
Young workers – members of the Socialist Party and Youth Fight for Jobs activists from across the country – gathered on 13 August to campaign against the bleak prospects facing young people under the Tory government.
The Youth Fight for Jobs campaign calls for a £15-an-hour minimum wage across the board, and pay rises in line with inflation, as well as an end to insecure working, the right to full-time work and a ban on zero-hour contracts.
The mood on the streets was very positive. Nine people left their details to find out more about joining the Socialist Party. And young people we talked to said they would definitely look into joining a union after talking with us.
But one young person, who worked for a delivery app, said: “I didn’t think I could join a union in my job”. This drives home the importance of discussing with young people and workers how they can get organised in the struggle for better pay and working conditions.
Young people are not politically represented in any mainstream party. It is clear a new mass workers’ party is needed to achieve socialist policies.
If you are a young person, and want to fight for a better future, join the Socialist Party today!
Oscar Parry
Brixton
Lots of people were doing a long curve around our campaign stall until they heard one of us say: “£15-an-hour minimum wage”. Then, most would take the flyer and look curiously at the stall.
Between “we need this’’, and “I support that”, we managed to reach out to many passers-by. One young worker with a bag from a giant delivery company on his back was very open and grateful for receiving the leaflet. He asked: “Is this for jobs? At £15? Where do I apply?” – a raw demonstration of the workers’ needs, demands, and despair.
One person said that higher wages would never be possible. He refused to take the leaflet. But later he came back. Our ideas had been planted, that another socialist world is possible.
Beatriz Freitas
Newcastle
I attended my first socialist stall. We were campaigning for a £15-an-hour minimum wage, youth job security, and calling to end the systematic exploitation of young workers.
My conversations with young people on the streets showed a sense of collective struggle and frustration, as well as a need for change. 17-year-olds shared their struggles with being unable to afford groceries on a youth minimum wage of £4.81, and lack of job security.
Another had been searching non-stop and can’t find a job that will provide enough hours for a decent wage, due to zero-hour contracts. Many young people asserted that life has become unaffordable, and that the public and future generations should not have to pay for the cost-of-living crisis.
However, some were worried that a £15-an-hour wage may come at the expense of high-skilled labour. The capitalist media shifts blame, through misinformation, onto the working class rather than the richest 1%. A decent wage for does not have to be at the expense of others.
It’s important for young people to be involved in demanding these changes, and the shared opinions of the workers in Newcastle show that young people are ready for change.
Pippa Rous
Oxford
After speaking with strikers at the Aslef train drivers’ picket line, we headed to the town centre to campaign for a £15-an-hour minimum wage. People were supportive of the campaign, and shared their experience of the cost-of-living crisis. People also expressed an interest in coming to our next Socialist Party branch meeting.
We also did some ‘guerilla’ leafleting in the local shopping centre – giving leaflets to the shop workers for them to read and distribute to their co-workers. This method seemed to be successful, and is something we will try again in the future.
Callum Joyce