23 August, 2024In a regional virtual meeting, 20 August, members of IndustriALL youth working group in South East Asia, East Asia and Pacific (SEA2PAC-Y) unanimously adopt a resolution to support the establishment of an IndustriALL Global youth committee.
In the resolution, SEA2PAC-Y stated that the global youth committee should be gender-balanced and composed of four representatives from each IndustriALL region. The structure was proposed in the draft youth policy that was prepared by the IndustriALL Global youth ad hoc working group.
The working group reaffirmed the youth resolution “The future is ours, the future is now!” adopted at the 2021 IndustriALL Congress. The resolution called for IndustriALL and its affiliates to recognize platforms for expression of youth's vision and youth representation at regional and international levels.
The SEA2PAC-Y co-chair Jean Faye Daguman said :
“ILO's 2024 Global Employment Trends for Youth report shows that 20 to 25 percent of young workers across the globe are working as temporary paid workers. The report concludes that young workers should empower themselves by joining youth organizations and raising their voices. Trade unions must create effective platforms for young workers or else they will find other organizations that fight for decent work.”
Participants highlighted that job insecurity is a big challenge in South East Asia. Some exploitative employers put young workers under probationary periods for two to three years. Trade unions find it difficult to organize subcontract workers due to their precarious status, young workers are fired from their jobs due to their union membership.
In concluding remarks, the SEA2PAC-Y co-chair Jonathan Cook said Australian unions are committed to bringing more young people to join trade unions, as a step to strengthen the labour movement. The union’s survey shows that 49 per cent of young workers are aware of Australian unions and 25 per cent of young workers are expected to join unions in the next year.
“The IndustriALL action plan calls for a transformative agenda to make unions relevant to all workers. The innovative youth policy proposal developed by our young leaders precisely addresses this challenge from a youth perspective. They are committed to contributing to improving young workers’rights worldwide and being articulated at global and regional levels is a logical strategy that should benefit everyone,”
said Sarah Flores IndustriALL youth officer.