People's March for Jobs '83

Scan page 5

Demonstrators outside Tory Party Conference OUR YS in York has been active in the unemployed group in town, so it set up like they have on Merseyside. seemed obvious that one of us would go - We should use the march to actually on this year's People's March for Jobs. achieve something lasting that we can The March is going to be a focal build on when we get back to our areas point for all the unemployed, but unfortunately, just marching won't The last People's March for Jobs in 1981 seems to have been run very We need to use this very visible.pro- bureaucratically. The stewards were test to actually build something. We appointed and made all the decisions -should visit factories and offices where they even stopped political slogans there are disputes going on, giving them our support and showing that the unem- The platform at rallies along the way UNEMPLOYMENT ployed recognise how important it is had Bishops speaking about the immorality of unemployment but One of the key needs now for the excluded workers who were actually unemployed is a national unemployed movement. which organises in the trade It's our March and we will fight to unions and around the unemployed run it as we want, and not the way top centres. On the march we'll be giving union officials think it should be run. -out union membership forms, encouraging the unemployed to join a union and fight for representation, and for A INE 40ot A LIVIN 160,000 scehems sponsored comr jobs (mode B). Ir where market forc weat, "uut A u will be low. In : wark last year onl YOPs places were rided by empl Thankfully only hool leavers wer rate enough to ti des). Here the of local soun being nunity 1 areas ces are •astian Southly 149 loyers.

e desake up in the icils is crucial. The refusal of Labour councils to employ slave labour, directly or indirectly, would be a major political and economic blow to YTS.

Labour councils must show the way to a proper training and employment programme, avoiding the pitfalls of YOPs and YTS by linking the expansion of training with an increase in council spending on public works and social services, so as to create the maximum number of jobs possible at the end of the training period.

Fined

A campaign must be started immediately to make young people aware of their rights and the nature of YTS and to dissuade them from participating in it.

Though the Tories claim no compulsion,. school leavers are barred from claiming for the first six weeks after leaving school and can be fined 40% of their benefit for a further six weeks for refusing a 'suitable' scheme. Any case of victimisation of young people by the DHSS for refusing to be exploited by YTS must be taken up by the labour movement. These : victimisations have already begun.

Trade unionists must force their leadership to break their entanglement with the MSC, and oppose the establishment of YTS at the workplace. Where unions are strong employers should be pressurised to provide real training with guaranteed jobs.

Apprenticeships must be •defended. Local Labour Parties must fight for their Council to boycott YTS and set up their own training schemes.

The right of young people to training, the right of a trainee to a job and the concept of education for the needs of the individual must be defended. Only the labour movement can win this battle.

The People's March sets off in Glasgow ON Saturday 23 April the Scottish contingent of this year's People's March for Jobs left Glasgow after heading a demonstration of 3,000 workers through the streets of the city to a rally at Queen's Park.

The demonstration, called by the Scottish TUC in support of the marchers, attracted many Labour Party, YS and trade union banners from across the whole of Scotland, partially demonstrating the mass support that the marchers have t's our actually win us any jobs. that the unions fight to save jobs. throughout the whole of the Scottish labour movement.

The rally at the end of the demonstration was addressed by a number, of leading trade unionists from both the TUC and Scottish TUC, pledging both their sympathy and support to the cause of the marchers.

• They also seemed pretty satisfied by the turn-out for the demonstration - which appeared to be on the small side, but the heavy rain and lack of publicity didn't really help.

marc!

after the Rally on June 5.

being chanted.

fighting for their jobs.

The 55 marchers will arrive in London on June 5 for the mass demonstration and rally against unemployment.

Class Fighter supporters in Scotland see the building of this demonstration as being an extremely impor tant task, and we will be organising to get as many youth down for June 5 as possible.

JIM KEARNS Blantyre LPYS trade union ulemployed branches MARY MORRISON, YORK LPYS

Scan page 6

Class Fighter May 1983 Pagé 6

----- pull-quotes -----

NO HOPE FUTURE

›PS IG WAGE HSED