TUC young workers participate in Labour’s Young Britain manifesto consultation

Last week 10 young trade unionists took part in a round table discussion with Labour MPs Lisa Nandy and Ivan Lewis. The purpose of the meeting was for Labour to hear directly from young people the issues affecting them and the policies they would want to see prioritised by a new Labour government.  The meeting was part of a series of consultations held by the Labour Party in order to inform their 'Manifesto for Young Britain's', (consultation is also taking place online via 'Shape your future').

Launched by Ed Miliband, the party leader has said the manifesto will act as a pledge to all young people; a written promise which young people will be able to hold Labour accountable to.
 
Chaired by TUC general secretary Frances O'Grady, the meeting which took place at Portcullis House in Westminster, set out  four main priorities: A Youth Jobs Guarantee, Fair Pay, Decent Jobs and access to decent housing.
 
Fern McCaffery, chair of the TUC’s young workers forum spoke first and gave a real account of the situation facing young people leaving education and then struggling to find work. Youth unemployment remains high in the UK today at 17 per cent of all 16-24year-olds; Fern told the MPs young people should be guaranteed employment, an apprenticeship or a place in further training after four months unemployment, in order to prevent the “scarring” effects of long term unemployment. However, Fern warned against making job offers compulsory stating young people should be able to take up placements voluntarily without fear their benefits will be withdrawn or sanctioned.
Fern also highlighted the specific need to address the growing problem of young women not in education, employment or training, 18 per cent of women aged 18-24 are NEET compare to 15 per cent men of the same age group. Fern noted Labour’s proposal for a youth allowance which would provide funding for young people money to retrain in order to the jobs they want but warned heavily against means testing and dictating eligibility based on parents income.
 
Anthony Curley, vice chair of TUC young workers forum spoke on the issue of pay and raised the important point that if we had strong unions and a Government which promoted and protected union rights, fair pay would be won by collective bargaining and would not be the issue it is for young people today, currently almost three in 10 (29 per cent) of 21 to 30 year olds are now low paid – equating to almost 1.5 million young workers, the number of young people not receiving minimum wage increased by 52 per cent and apprentice pay is still only £2.63. Labour said they will increase the minimum wage but it's not enough, young people, as well as all workers, deserve a living wage. GMB young member, Olivia pointed out that more should be done to encourage young women into sectors where pay is typically higher such as engineering. She called for targeted action the address the fact that only 3 per cent of engineering apprentices are women yet women are over populated in low paid apprenticeships in hairdressing and beauty. Olivia told the labour representatives that to address this, more funding needs to be put into good quality, independent careers advice services.
 
Decent jobs, was the next topic raised. Although statistics show there are record numbers of people in work, the type of work is insecure, fixed term, zero hour contacts. Delegates highlighted the point that young people in particular are victim to this increase in precarious work, 50 per cent of all zero hour contract workers under 30. The number of people employed in agency work has risen sharply following the recession, 37 per cent of all agency workers are aged under 30. Dan Lewis, CWU young member described his situation as agency worker.  When he became a new Dad he struggled not having the same rights as his full time colleagues in regards to paternity leave and pay. His union fought for him to gain a permanent contract, providing security for him and his family.  Nicola from Equity union explained how in her industry young people are continually taken advantage of, expected to work for free in order to gain experience and develop contacts with the hope to be offered paid roles in the future, the union is running 'no pay, no way' campaign to prevent this exploitation, she explained only by acting together will this practice end.
 
The last issue discussed was Housing, delegates told the MPs how young people today are priced out of home ownership, a lack of social housing has meant they have become ‘rent slaves’ to private landlords where standards are not in keeping with the high costs. TUC researcher found young people pay on average 40 per cent of their salary on rent. UNISON young member Greta and Emily from BECTU both spoke out on this issue, their message was that a Labour government needs to act to save young people from being ‘generation rent’ and build at least 1 million new homes. Labour pledged 250,000 but Frances O’Grady said  there has to be a substantial amount allocated to council if young people are to have any chance of accessing affordable homes. Prospect young member Kunal agreed with Frances’ point and spoke out stating that just like health care, shelter is a human necessity, if we deem it important enough to provide a national health service, why do we not consider the need for social housing just as much a priority.
 
At the end of the meeting the need for young people to have a greater voice and participation in politics was raised. Delegates spoke of the importance of the voter registration campaign and the need for MPs to take young voters seriously by concentrating on developing policies that young people will vote for. The power to recall MPs and better education in schools to teach young people how to vote and the importance of taking part and accessing their democratic right. MPs should look at new ways to reach out to young people, make politics relate to them and relevant to their lives and issues.
 
Ivan and Lisa took on board all the points raised and informed the group that the contributions will be influential in shaping the content of the manifesto which is due out before by the end of April.

 The young participants managed to cover a lot of ground in the short 60 minutes they had. The four priority issues raised, along with a broader outline issues affecting young people, can be found in the TUC Young Workers briefing [PDF]
 
The deadline to participate online and submit your thoughts on what Labour should include in the young Britain Manifesto is end of February, visit 'Shape your future' and make sure your voice is heard,