Young people occupy a unique position in society. They face both formal and informal discrimination, as well as disproportionate social and political exclusion. They are often the first to be hit by, and are more affected by, homelessness and the housing crisis, violence, poverty, social exclusion, attacks on workers and students and other social problems.
At the end of 2012, Geelong averaged 4 comrades selling on a weekly basis. As a result of this our average hours were 7 hours a week, and we were averaging 18 sales a week. Rather than looking at ways those comrades could sell more papers, we began to look at ways of increasing the participation rate of the branch in Green Left Weekly selling, in other words getting more comrades out on the streets on a regular basis.
At a special conference in February this year, Resistance: Socialist Youth voted to dissolve itself as an independent youth organization, and to reform as the youth wing of the Socialist Alliance.
Students say report "confirms what we’ve known for decades: that a culture of rape has become endemic through the inaction of universities."
The government is setting up the next generation of workers to fail while the right-wing press victimises young job seekers when they do fail, or for getting frustrated at a system that is clearly broken.
There are many issues facing young people in or entering the workplace that impact not just on young people but on the broader working class as well. Most young people enter the workforce with no knowledge of legal working conditions, which makes it difficult if not impossible for young workers to speak up when issues in the workplace arise.
The need for system change was a recurring discussion throughout this year's Students of Sustainability (SOS) conference. Conference participants were enthusiastic about practical next steps, wanting to know what they could do when they went back to their home towns, cities or campuses.
Radical Ideas is a 3-day conference of discussion, debate and ideas for radical change, from December 4-6 in Sydney. The conference will feature a number of special guest speakers, including well-known campaigners involved in various social and environmental movements.
At Geelong's Walk Together rally on October 25, Labor's shadow immigration minister Richard Marles told the crowd Labor would “welcome” refugees.
A shake up is needed so that young workers can not only receive a fair wage, but also so they can see the relevance of unions in fighting for their rights at work.