With youth unemployment over 22% across the EU*, and a shocking 53% in Spain*, European trade unions are demanding that funding for the EU’s Youth Guarantee is extended.
Youth representatives of the European Trade Union Confederation and European sectoral trade union Federations will meet European Employment and Social Affairs Commissioner Marianne Thyssen on Thursday 21 January at 17:00h to press the Commission to continue funding the Youth Guarantee beyond 2016.
The Youth Guarantee is supposed to offer all young people under 25 a good quality job, apprenticeship, traineeship, or continued education within 4 months of them leaving formal education or becoming unemployed.
The delegation will argue that
- The Youth Guarantee is still needed because all economic forecasts suggest that youth unemployment will remain high across Europe
- In future it needs to be better funded, and better implemented by all EU countries.
- Youth unemployment is a social timebomb, already causing misery for younger and older generations
The young trade unionists will also tell Commissioner Thyssen that the European Investment Plan should be increased, with more public money, to create more jobs, and include specific programmes for getting young people into work.
While trade unions support the Youth Guarantee it remains a problem that many EU countries have not implemented it, and are not using the funds available for it.
The trade union youth representatives meeting Commissioner Thyssen are Thiébaut Weber and Tom Vrijens (ETUC), Cathrine Ertsas (UNI-EU), Inge Gielis (EFFAT), Michael Schuh (EPSU), Chiara Lorenzini (EFBWW), Sascha Ernszt (IndustriAll), Koen Reynaerts (ETF).
* The latest Eurostat youth unemployment figures are for 2014.
