Organising to defend our future: 9 October- Youth fight for jobs day of action
Reece Wilson, Youth Fight for Jobs
Workers are under attack. Those who will suffer the most are young workers: we are less likely to have full-time, stable jobs, to own homes, and less likely to have any savings to fall back on in a crisis.
Those of us who get Universal Credit face a cut of £80 a month, while public sector workers suffer a pay freeze. Young workers that were furloughed are more likely to have lost their jobs, and with the scheme coming to an end at the end of September, thousands more will follow.
Young workers will pay the price of the pandemic. Meanwhile, the world’s 2,365 billionaires increased their wealth by 54% in the first year of the pandemic alone.
The way to stop being attacked is to defend yourself – that is why we have relaunched Youth Fight for Jobs.
Recent workers’ struggles have shown that if we sit back, the attacks will grow greater. But if we organise, we can stop the attacks on our living standards.
Young workers must join a trade union and organise to fight against all job cuts; and if firms say they are unable to keep people on, then open the books and show us where the money is going! We must fight against low-paid unstable jobs, and instead demand the creation of socially useful jobs that benefit everyone, not just the capitalists.
In response to the shortage of skilled labour, we need real training and apprenticeship schemes, with a job at the end, rather than a scheme that benefits only the bosses by providing dismal pay for hard work.
It’s workers that really run society: we drive the buses, stack the shelves, care for the ill, and more. Six million workers are organised in the trade unions, with membership rising. If we organise, we can improve our lives and our futures.
Youth Fight for Jobs is working with trade unions, students, and others with these aims. If you also want to fight back, then join us at your local protest on 9 October.
- For more information and to join visit: youthfightforjobs.com/get-involved