ONE out of every two school leavers will be placed on a Youth Opportunities Programme this year. Sounds good? Well just turn that statement around.
One out of every two school leavers at least will not have a job to go to this year. Inal s wilal Il Ically means. That's not a future for anyone. And even it you do manage to get on one of these schemes, other than reducing the unemployment statistics, you're not likely to get much out of it.
The trade union movement nas at last woken up 1o the fact that YOPs are a cheap form of labour that offers little or no training for young people, and cerNow youth themselves are fighting back against lousy pay and conditions. In June, in Consett, which is a ghost town after the sieel works closed down a year ago, YOPs workers went on strike.
The northern division of the public employees' union, NUPE, have launched Callell unionise young workers on YOPs. On 28 August they held a rally in Newcastle. Over so young workers attended despite losing :4.50 from their 'wages Tom Sawyer, NUPE sculclaly, writing in Labour Herald, that 'many workers see the part of the • areaucracy which has 'eer instrumentai in chaning them from the dole Socialist Challenge queues into schemes which are unable to provide real training or work experiences. They know that after a short perod they will be back in the pool of the And that's really the nub of the problem. youth really want is not better YOPs schemes but a job. They want a future. Fighting for the right for everyone to WOrK Isne best way the trade union movement tional Union of Students and other organisations including the National Association for Asian Youth, is good news. The campaign aims for jobs and a voice for young people, under the slogan 'Give us a future'. Festival The first maJor national event will take place in November. A Jobs Express will travel round the country, finally arriving in festival, demonstration and lobby Or ramere As trade union membership declines drastically because unemployment, it's easy to cynical motives of the TUC in this 17 September 1981 Garland Packaging By Duncan Edwardes WORKERS al weeks involved redundancies Peter Woods, plained, Alan Grounds, work.
Clums be in a position to win it ourselves ing from local MP, Bob Litherland.
But as Peter Woods put it, win treasurer, Len Hughes,
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unemployed Permanently Future
supphe Souts to Youth lunched by the Tuac, ea