Youth see no future under Con-Dems

 

As the majority of UK working class youth face a future without further education and limited job prospects, what has to be done? asks Joy Macready

In a moment of candour on 17 May, David Cameron told the Commons Liaison Committee that the UK had “schools and opportunity” problems for young people. Well, yes, that is definitely true.
What he failed to say was that the “schools problem” stems from the coalition government’s decision to scrap the Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA), which helped young people who were facing financial hardship to continue their studies. At the same time, they gave the nod for university tuition fees to rise by 200 per cent, to £9000 per year, putting the average student £25,000 in debt by the end of a three-year degree.
Seeing that their educational “opportunities” are limited, many young people are looking for work but getting a job isn’t easy. Currently, one in five young people are out of work, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). This is more than double the average unemployment rate, which currently sits at 7.8 per cent, or 2.5 million people.
The number of jobless 16 to 24-year-olds increased by 12,000 over the quarter to February to 963,000, while the total for 16 and 17-year-olds increased to 218,000, the highest since records began in 1992.
It is even worse for young people from ethnic minority backgrounds, with the unemployment rate for 18 to 24-year-old black and Asian workers, almost twice that of young white workers.
Draconian New JSA Rules
Instead of taking action to ease the jobs crisis, the government has ramped up its efforts to push claimants, young and old, off Jobseekers Allowance (JSA) forcing them into low paid or voluntary jobs. The Mandatory Work Activity Scheme, which will be delivered by private, voluntary and third sector, will force claimants to take up placements or lose benefits.
These placements are varied and could be doing maintenance work for housing residents, renovating old furniture, working in a local sports club or supporting charitable organisations. Claimants will have little choice in their placement, which may be completely unrelated to their job goals or past experience.
All jobseekers will be enrolled on this scheme on the first day of their claim and expected to do four Mandatory Work Activity Schemes, working up to 30 hours a week. The claimant will lose their allowance for a minimum of three months minimum for refusal, lateness, or failure to “actively participate”.
The government has also committed to funding 250,000 more apprenticeships over the next four years and 100,000 work placements over the next two years. Currently, employers pay just £2.50 per hour for an apprentice under 19 or over 19 and in their first year, and work placements are unpaid. So this is a free subsidy from the tax payer to the employer at the expense of the worker.
Companies benefiting from forced labour include: Poundland, Oxfam, Salvation Army, Tescos and Whittington Hospital.
Turn Britain into Spain!
In Spain, unemployed youth have taken to the streets across the country, emulating the Egyptian revolutionary movement. And they have a right to be angry – the jobless rate among Spain’s generally well-educated youth has reached nearly 45 per cent, a record in any industrialised country and more than twice the overall employment rate.
We need to do the same in the UK. We must fight for decent work, training and income for everyone.
In addition, the trade unions must join the struggle. With the social strength of unions behind us, we can stop workfare in its tracks. Join the boycott campaign, Boycott Workfare and pass the union motion at your next branch.
For more information go to:
www.boycottworkfare.org