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All work and low pay? Young people speak out at Tolpuddle

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It was great to have an all women panel at the young workers session at Tolpuddle this year. Young trade unionists Lucille Harvey of Unite and Greta Holmes of UNISON were joined by Grace van Zyl Member of Youth Parliament for Dorset, Crystal Lilly Mills of Dorset Youth Council and Susuana Antubam, NUS Women’s Officer elect.

The subject of the day was ‘All Work and Low Pay’, a scenario all too familiar for young people affected by insecure contracts, agency work and a lower than average medium wage. Such challenges lead to social problems like access to housing and a cost of living crisis. Each member of the panel gave their insights on the issues.

Greta spoke of having fewer prospects than her parents; “Instead of the next generation achieving more, they are doomed to live at home and are dependant for longer. Young people are too often taken advantage of, working for free in unpaid internships and work experience programmes”.

Crystal from Dorset Youth Council commented on the fact that the majority of unemployment benefits now go to people in work, to subsidise low wages; “We are living in a time when the tax payer is having to make up for employers who do not pay a living wage”, she said. “Young people are hit worse with minimum wage at just £3.72 for under 18s and £2.68 for apprentices, sending a clear signal that young workers are valued less.”

Grace spoke about the more than a million unemployed young people in the UK, describing her own difficulties at trying to find a Saturday job, her worries about the future and having the career she is studying so hard to achieve.

Susuana brought up the need for better transition between the classroom and the labour market, a decent careers service which gives young people the steer they need to get the jobs they want. Susanna also spoke out about the scrapping of Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) and the increasing of tuition fees which has made getting a decent education harder on young people and put the burden of debt the students of tomorrow.

Commenting that the government’s current policies on issues like jobs and housing are failing young people, deep concern was raised by all on the panel that young people’s voices are not being heard. Turnout at the 2010 general election amongst 18 to 24 year olds was just 43% and less than 1 in 10 of workers aged 16-24 are members of a union.

What's the solution? Young people need to engage and get organised. Join trade unions, pressure groups and political parties -speak out!

Lucille Harvey (Unite) said: “Today we're here to commemorate the Tolpuddle martyrs. Our history shows us then as now the working class only has two options: despondency or resistance. Everything we have today: the 8 hour working day, the weekend, sick pay, holiday entitlement were all fought for and won by brothers and sisters in our movement's past. The very least we owe them is a tenacious defence of those rights and to continue fighting for a better tomorrow.”

Pratically, Lucille said that there is much for trade unions to do. They should respect the young members currently active in their structures and the contributions they bring, while actively reaching out to new young workers in ways that resonate with them; we should organise in the places where young people work – sectors such as retail, food, and accommodation services – mostly in the private sector, and overwhelmingly have low levels of union density. Further, she said, we should update our industrial strategies to reflect the changing nature of the UK’s labour movement, and continue to educate and train young people to become strong activists for today and for the future.

“The Tolpuddle Martyrs collectively organised, they fought back and eventually won. Let us follow their example!” Inspiring words from an inspiring panel, at an event commemorating great achievements of the past which we hope to build upon for a better future.

For more information about the National TUC Young Members network contact Carl Roper or Lauren Usher. To find out how you can be involved in the South West TUC Young Workers network please contact Kit Leary.

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