Youth Fight For Jobs protest outside Parliament to protest at 1 million young people unemployed

Protests called against youth unemployment

Campaign to expose reality of governments ‘backing young Britain’ lies

Youth Fight for Jobs protest outside Parliament against 1 million unemployed young people, photo Socialist Party

Youth Fight for Jobs protest outside Parliament against 1 million unemployed young people, photo Socialist Party   (Click to enlarge: opens in new window)

Watch the video of the protest (2min)

Youth Fight for Jobs will be holding a protest outside Parliament (by the Winston Churchill statue in Parliament Square) this Wednesday, 16 September 2009 at 11am to mark the latest release of unemployment figures. As 16-24 unemployment edges ever closer to the 1 million mark, Youth Fight for Jobs will be presenting a CV displaying the skills of our generation that aren’t being used because of the credit crunch.

Sean Figg, Youth Fight for Jobs organiser, said “Youth Fight for Jobs will again be protesting the rising youth unemployment figures. Whilst Parliamentarians are still holidaying, young people are bearing the brunt of a recession not of their making. How many who have just left full time education will be included in these figures? How many more young people are being consigned to a life on the dole? Youth Fight for Jobs will not put up with this situation.”

“We’re organising a fightback. We will be demonstrating on 28 November, bringing together young people from the universities, from the workplaces and from the job centres together to fight against Brown and Cameron condemning us to become the lost generation. We are also campaigning for real measures to end youth unemployment. Through our supporters in the trade unions, and councillors and MPs, we will be asking serious questions of the governments recent ‘Backing young Britain’ announcements. The vast bulk of placements they are offering are available only to long term 18-24 year olds, and are explicitly limited to 6 months by the government – what about the rest of unemployed young people? Sheffield Council have said that this is inadequate and are doubling the placement time – why can’t the government start by offering this? We’ll be campaigning to ensure that young people aren’t used as cheap labour, or in the case of those placements with Royal Mail, as strike breakers.”

Youth Fight for Jobs is supported by three national trade unions, the PCS, the RMT and the CWU. It was launched at the start of 2009, as the scale of the crisis became clear. A national demonstration is being called on the 28 November, in central London at 12 noon around the slogans ‘for real jobs – for free education’. Youth Fight for Jobs is also supporting the Vestas day of action on Thursday 17 September, taking part in actions called around the country.