From February 11th to 13th, the YCW national movements in Europe are meeting in Brussels to plan collective work at the European level. Leaders of YCW Flanders, Wallonia and Germany are attending the meeting.
The aim of the meeting, coordinated by Sarah Prenger, the European Team member, is to develop a concrete plan towards a seminar and exchange at the European level on precarious work.
Precarious work is a thorny issue in Europe, especially for youth. They are forced to work in poor conditions due to a lack of job opportunities.
In Wallonia, unemployed youth undergo pressure from the government to find a job; otherwise the unemployment benefits will be suspended. In addition to that, they are labeled as lazy by society. The impact of these conditions is that unemployed youth compete for whatever jobs are available in the market and many young people are employed in hazardous work, even close to slavery.
In Flanders, young people are also struggling to get a job through temporary work agencies. They are often faced with false ads, which promise a job but when they arrive, the job does not exist or has been taken by someone else. They feel worthless as a youth.
In Germany, conditions are not much different. They work under daily contract. Every single day they have to call the employment agency to check if there is a job for the following day.
These realities are discussed and analyzed at the continental meeting. In addition, leaders of national movements in Europe have agreed to develop a common vision to strengthen continental action, including the extension of the movement in Ukraine and consolidation in Spain.
