- £15-an-hour minimum wage
- Cap rents
- Fight for socialism
Callum Joyce, Oxford Socialist Party
The future on offer to young people is dire. It includes unemployment, low-paid, unstable work and being saddled with thousands of pounds of student debt that will take decades to pay off.
Rents are increasing to satisfy the greed of landlords, and the idea of owning your own home is a far-off dream.
None of this will be news to those entering the world of work for the first time. As the cost-of-living crisis worsens, the prospects for young workers get worse too.
But there is a way out of the crisis. One that doesn’t leave us worrying where the next meal will come from. Young people need to get organised, join the trade union movement and help lead the struggle against the bosses and capitalist politicians who support them.
The recent RMT strikes have shown the potential power of working-class people when they act together. The spirit of these strikes must be carried all over the country, and throughout all industries, if young people are going to have a shot at winning back our futures.
Engaging in struggle is no longer a choice – it is fast becoming a necessity. Now more than ever, it is vital that the trade union leaders set a fighting example, to inspire the new generation of workers with the confidence that when we fight, we can win.
At the same time, young workers are taking up the fight in our own workplaces and communities, fighting for pay rises, rent controls and public services.
But trade union struggle on its own is not enough. We need a mass political force that actually supports picket lines, stands up for workers, and demands a minimum wage of £15 an hour and an end to zero-hour contracts.
But to end the system of economic exploitation that forces workers into struggle in the first place, a new workers’ party needs to also fight for socialism – a system where the productive forces are publicly owned, under democratic working-class control, and used to provide for the needs of all.
We say to all workers and young people: join the fightback, get organised in a trade union, and join the Socialist Party!
