ICFTU Youth Action Plan:
Starting now with more and better Jobs for young people

The ICFTU Youth Action Plan ‘Starting Now With More And Better Jobs For Young People’ is designed to pull youth unemployment and the deterioration of young workers’ jobs from the lower rung to the top levels of the political agenda. Trade union action to provide young people with more and better jobs is an absolute necessity, to stop the tragedy of millions of young people who are unemployed, are in precarious jobs and lack proper education and training.

Millions of young people are excluded from jobs and their numbers are increasing each year. The average youth unemployment rate is twice as high then among adults, but in developing countries youth and adult unemployment rates are even wider than in industrialised countries. The deterioration of young workers’ jobs leads to low pay, part-time and temporary jobs with very little social protection. These atypical forms of work are multiplying and respond to the increasing demand for flexibility. Millions of children continue to be exploited as workers.

Education has become an ever inaccessible privilege for many young people in the developing countries. Young people without proper education face the greatest risk of being locked into low paid work or of losing their jobs as skill demands rise. The ultimate consequence is poverty and exclusion .

A deep commitment and concerted action of the trade unions is required, to develop and implement effective programs and policies on youth employment at national and international level. The following ‘Action Points’ should be used as a basis and guideline for trade union action.

Action Points

Youth unemployment is a priority issue and should be at the centre of the trade union agenda. It requires action at decision making levels and effective trade union policies and programs on more and better jobs, quality education and training for young people.

The issue of youth unemployment is narrow related to education and trends on the labour market. Therefore trade union action on youth unemployment is required in three areas:

1. Education for all children and young people
2. Improving the transition form school to work, which requires quality education and training, a better labour market information system and special services and training
3. Job creation.

1. Education for all

Education is a right of children and young people. It enables them to fully participate within the society and to have a better access to work. It breaks the vicious circle of poverty and exclusion. Trade union action is essential to ensure that all children and young people have access to education and training. Special policies and programs will be necessary to prevent that children go to work and not to school.

Access to education for all

Trade unions should urge governments and international governmental organisations to undertake appropriate action to:

• guarantee that all children and young people have access to primary, secondary education and training.
• to set up positive action strategies to ensure equal access for girls and young women to education, vocational guidance and training and retraining
  
• to prevent that sustainable development programs leads to cuts in allocations for education and training.

Children who go to school and not to work

 

To ensure that children have access to school , instead of living on the street or going to work, trade unions are urged to:

 

• mobilise national and international action to stimulate that children go to school and not to work.
  
• urge governments to ensure that children have access to school by setting up policies and programs:

   

  • which provides financial support for families to cover costs of school fees, school supplies, travel to school and meals.
  • which offers special care to street children.
  • which forces employers to hire (young) adult workers, instead of children.

   

• to put pressure on employers and employers organisations to prevent child labour.

2. Improving the transition form school to work

One of the critical areas to improve the job opportunities of young people is improving the transition from school to work. Millions of young people lack adequate education, training, information and guidance when they enter the labour market. It is often the cause for a mismatch between school and work , which leads to unemployment, underemployment or exclusion.

Improving the transition from school to work for young people requires specific measurements such as:

School curricula

Trade action is required to put pressure on governments and stimulate tripartite involvement to ensure that

• school curricula reflect the requirements of young people when they enter the labour market and provide them with information on young workers rights and the role of trade unions.
• to establish national skill standards and curriculum and where appropriate supranational standards.

Labour market information systems

Trade unions should urge governments to:

• improve the labour market information system, which should be equipped with the following tasks:
  • a proper co-ordination of labour market research,
  • information on the availability of jobs,
  • collection of statistics and
  • information sharing on best practices to create employment for young people.

   

• that labour market information is accessible for education and training systems and available through the media which are popular and accessible for young people (television, radio, posters, etc.).

At regional and international trade unions should push for :

 

• an adequate system to exchange information and stimulate international co-operation to identify effective methods for quality education and training systems and a better transition from school to work.

Youth training centres

Trade unions should urge governments :

 

• To establish youth training centres (or even mobile centres) which provides young ‘drop-outs’ and job seekers with guidance on job searching and in making well informed choices for education or training.

3. Job creation

Job creation and special measures on the labour market are still the keys for young people to get proper access to employment. Trade union action is required to put job creation for young people at the centre of the political agenda during collective bargaining procedures and at tripartite level.

Commitment of the social partners is required and essential to create jobs.

Research shows that programs are more successful when the social partners are involved in its design and implementation. It helps to identify the appropriate forms of education, training and employment programs for job opportunities and will commit these organisations to its success .

Tripartite involvement at local and national level in the design of occupational qualifications is important in setting up curricula and programs to match current and emerging labour market needs.

Job creation

At tripartite level and at collective bargaining procedures, trade union action is required to urge for job creation programs for young people. Job creation should be considered in

1. growth industries such as service industries, community and health services and environmental management and
2. in the public sector, particularly in socially useful areas such as education and training, health and community services.

Trade unions should ensure that specific jobs are created for the most vulnerable groups: young women, young people from minority groups, disabled young people.

Further trade union action is required:

• to ensure that governments actively intervene in the economy in order to create employment and have active industry development policies.
• to urge employers to take up their responsibility and to take an active role in job creation for young people
• to convince international governmental organisations of the necessity to develop and implement international action programs and policies on job creation for young people and to set up a database on best practices for job creation

Job creation through special measers and programs

Job creation can be established as well through specific measures for young people on the labour market. At tripartite level and at collective bargaining procedures trade unions should urge for:

• a system of subsidies and incentives for employers, shorter working hours and reduction of overtime work to increase the number of entry level positions for young people
• training and a system of cheap loans for self-employed young people.
• replacement of child labourers with young unemployed adults.
• a specific system of subsidies and incentives for employers and training and re-training facilities for unemployed young people, young people in precarious jobs with specific emphasis on young women, disabled young people and people from minority groups.

Further trade union action

Trade unions are urged to raise at tripartite level and at collective bargaining procedures issues which are narrow related to precarious jobs and unemployment, such as:

• measurements to prevent that young people are affected the most by high overall unemployment
• To reject the concept of cutting youth wages in order to create jobs, which would mean a further deterioration of young people’s jobs
• improving the working conditions and wages of young people in precarious jobs
• appropriate training and education,
• health and safety measurements
• social protection for young unemployed people

 

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