Last weekend, Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden announced the Labour government's new "Youth Guarantee" scheme, meant to reduce the number of "NEETs" (youth Not in Employment, Education or Training) - currently 946,000, near its highest for over a decade. He claims "this should be a Labour cause because it's an issue not just of unemployment, but of inequality too" - pretending to care about poorer areas where NEETs are concentrated - when in fact he's tasked with cutting the welfare benefits that keep this youth from sinking further into poverty!
The government has commissioned a report by Alan Milburn, former Labour Health Secretary under Blair (who boasted about "getting the private sector into the NHS") to find out why there are so many NEETs. As if it wasn't obvious! Just in the past 2 months, companies have cut 64,000 jobs, particularly in retail, and about 180,000 in the past year! But McFadden won't lay the blame for record youth unemployment where it belongs, i.e., full square with the bosses, who try to satisfy their gross appetites by screwing the working class and squeezing more profit out of fewer of us!
Like his predecessor Liz Kendall, he points the finger at the youth for cheating the health benefits system, and "taking the mickey". Never mind that there is a real deterioration in the health of the working class, especially youth. And it's not surprising, given a revolving door of precarious jobs on low wages and endless gaps in employment. The number of homeless youth has also increased sharply - by 25% in one year!
But now, if young people refuse a work placement, they'll have their Universal Credit cut - and never mind the lack of jobs. In fact, McFadden himself admits there are no jobs, given he's put up a hefty £820m subsidy for companies to give 55,000 youth (on 25 hours a week) 6-month "work placements". Another £725m for youth apprenticeships was announced in Reeves' Budget. So a total £1.5bn subsidy to companies, which will gladly take on young workers as free labour, and cut them as soon as the placements end!
McFadden's "Youth Guarantee" is just another scheme to give handouts to the bosses and harass young workers, forcing them into countless job-seeking meetings and "intensive training" - with the constant threat of "sanctions" and welfare cuts if they don't comply. As for making the bosses stop the job cuts - that can only be forced on them by all workers, young and old, fighting together!