Jobless Scottish youth condemn workfare and mobilise for national demonstration against youth unemployment
The Youth Fight for Jobs (YFJ) campaign in Scotland condemns the Coalition government’s Workfare schemes that exploit young people as slave labour to make profits for big business.
YFJ campaigns for increased public spending to create real jobs paid at agreed union rates.
YFJ is mobilising young people across Scotland for the national demonstration against youth unemployment, organised by the STUC, at the Tory party conference in Troon on Saturday March 24.
Eoin Lesslie, unemployed (18 ) from Dundee a recent Workfare participant “ I felt completely demoralised. I was told I was being given training that would help me into full time work. I was then made to work a full time job and only receive only my JSA. I didn’t even have a guaranteed job at the end of it. That was a year ago and I am back to square one and still out of work”
Jamie Cocozza, graduate from Glasgow, unemployed for ten months “The prospect of being placed on the work programme in the very near future gives me sleepless nights. The government should kickstart a mass programme of creating real jobs on a living wage, not condemning us to slave labour”
Wayne Scott, Youth Fight for Jobs Scotland“Schemes like Workfare are not designed to help young people into full time employment, they are designed to provide slave labour to big companies like Tesco that are making profits of £3.5 billion a year and can easily afford to pay all of their workers a living wage and create real jobs. My mother works for two different supermarkets who are using workfare schemes on a part time basis because neither will offer full time hours and she still needs state benefits on top of her low wages to survive week to week. Tory ministers like Chris Grayling are calling young people snobs for not wanting to be used as slaves on these schemes but workfare is a subsidy by the government to their super rich big business friends.The truth is that this is a massive attack on pay, terms and conditions of retail workers. Instead replacing vacancies with real jobs, companies can bolster their profits by taking on conscripts for a month or two. We demand the creation of real jobs for young people paid a living wage or agreed trade union rate. We urge young people to march on the Tory party conference on March 24, to demand that the politicians, rather than allowing fat cat bosses, to exploit young people create the millions of jobs that are needed.
Contact YFJ for more info/ interviews/ transport details to Troon demonstration
Phone / Text 07712607224
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