Posts
So today we have learned unemployment rate for those aged from 16-24 up by 0.8 on the quarter to reach 20.6% the highest figure since records began in 1992. Very worrying neews indeed for those young people struggling to find a job out there today.
I am a socialist and the socialist party has a excellent campaign that has been going for sometime now and is becoming ever more rellevant as the months tick by. Their demands are simple
THE RIGHT TO A DECENT JOB FOR ALL, WITH A LIVING WAGE OF AT LEAST £8 AN HOUR
NO TO CHEAP LABOUR APPRENTICESHIPS! ALL APPRENTICESHIPS TO PAY AT LEAST THE MINIMUM WAGE, WITH A JOB GUARANTEED AT THE END
NO TO UNIVERSITY FEES. SUPPORT THE CAMPAIGN TO DEFEAT FEES.
The last point there is very telling as we see week by week each university coming out and announcing it will be charging the top rate of 9 thousand pounds a year tuitian fees. This is despite the government telling us this price would be the exception not the norm.
Take Hull in yorkshire one of the worst areas in teh country for youth unemployment.
Welcome to Hull - capital of youth unemployment. Where 50% of young men leave school without a single A*-C grade GCSE. Where chlamydia, gonorrhoea and teenage pregnancy are at the highest levels in the country. Where youth services face being slashed by 75%. And where 40% of people are employed by the city council which is about to cut 1,350 jobs.
The young people of this city have been abandoned. The Lib Dem council is in charge of a budget that is supposed to provide for some of the neediest young people in the country, yet they see fit to cut their provisions to barely a quarter of the already inadequate funding.
Young people in Hull will lose their youth centres, their sexual health clinics, their after school clubs, their EMA and the Learning Zone, a ten week course based at the KC stadium with local rugby and football teams.
Even the shining star of youth provisions, the Albemarle Music Centre, hasn't escaped the axe. 600 young musicians a week use this centre. It is home to the Yorkshire Young Musicians and the Hull Philharmonic orchestra, as well as 18 other musical ensembles. However, the centre will lose all of its funding.
There is huge anger about the impending cuts. It even triggered a youth-led demonstration during half term. Hundreds of young people and youth workers protested outside the city hall, outside the train station and outside the guildhall, with young people from the Albemarle staging musical protests at each location.
However, this will not be enough. The council will stand firm, despite the pressure of thousands of workers, youth and trade unionists protesting already. The only alternative being offered in the council chamber is a Labour group wanting to cut salaries rather than lead a real fightback.
Hull Youth Fight for Jobs will be joining the march from Jarrow to London in October to call for a better future for young people. We want action from the government to provide jobs, training and decent welfare.
To get involved with any part of the march or for information on other ways you can help see www.jarrow2london2011.wordpress.com
aswell as Hull there is Lewisham in south London one of the most deprieved areas in the whole of the country and again it is having its budget cut by labour and the tories by a huge amount. It is outrageous that those who need the help most will not get it no longer.
New figures show that Lewisham has the highest level of youth unemployment in Britain with 35.8% of 16-24 year unemployed in the borough. Due to cuts in funding from the council services for unemployed youth will close their doors. Within the next month Connexions and Opening Doors will close down.
The lack of common sense from Lewisham council is astounding. It is outrageous that at the same time as these figures coming out they refuse to provide the funding necessary to keep these vital services going. Many young people rely on services like Connexions and Opening Doors to help them out of the misery of unemployment.
We say that councils should be funding services to create work and keep people off the dole queue. We are holding this demonstration to show the council and the ConDem government that young people won't take attacks on our futures lying down. We won't be a lost generation, we will fight for real jobs and a decent education.
Lastly i'd just like to bring to peoples attention the Jarrow march that is taking place this October i myself will be helping out with this if i can as the route comes into our area and would love to show solidarity with the youth marching to London to protest about the lack of jobs for the youth of today.
This October will mark the 75th anniversary of the Jarrow March against unemployment. Recent figures have shown that the issue of unemployment still exists especially amongst youths. At present there are 965,000 16-24 year olds who are unemployed.
Youth Fight for Jobs will bring the issue right to the fore by holding a march from Jarrow to London, starting on 1 October and ending on 5 November. We will be holding the protest to demand decent jobs and a free education for young people.
Youth Fight for Jobs, National Organiser Paul Callanan says: "Young people now face the worst attacks on our rights and living standards we've seen in generations. The government is determined to push through cuts that will limit opportunities for youth even further. They also want to see unemployed youth used as slave labour for big business by putting people on work for dole schemes. With the brutal attacks being made on the right to an education as well, we really feel that every avenue is being closed off for people who want a decent future.
"We will be marching from Jarrow to London in October to show this Con-Dem government that we will not see all the gains made by working class people over the last century blotted out of existence. We want to put the issue of youth unemployment right at the top of the agenda. As well as the march we will be building protests, demonstrations and rallies up and down the country in solidarity with the march, with the aim of linking up student activists, trade unionists, those fighting against the cuts and the unemployed.
"This is the time for young people to say; "we won't be a lost generation! Fight for jobs and education!"
No comments:
Post a Comment