Young Workers March to Berlin on May Day Celebration
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Just work and young workers’ rights were at the forefront of the gathering of around fifty young workers and leaders of CAJ from various regions of Germany. They gathered together in Berlin from April 28 to May 1, 2017 to deepen their action campaign on “Precarious Work”. Three main demands under that theme were identified: the reduction of working time, basic income guarantee and gender equality at work and in the society.
During the “Bundesaktionstage”, which was the name of the study days and the “March of Young Workers” organized in the framework of this grassroots event, young German workers, students, unemployed youth, migrants and refugees joined together in action.
Celebrating May First?
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While the International Week of Young Workers comes to an end, young workers and activists in the IYCW carry out actions against precarious and unsteady jobs in the world, against inequalities in all aspects of life. Today, on the occasion of May First, we raise the flag of struggle together with popular and worker organisations and other groups acting in favour of promoting a new society where people are equal.
March 15, 2017: “Just Work, not Bullets”
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The International Young Christian Workers (IYCW) is declaring March 15 International Day against Police Violence and State Repression. We have experiences from all around the world of increasing incidents involving the use of force by police and the military to suppress the demands of the population for Just Work, Equality and Dignified life.
For instance, the Walloon YCW noted that in recent months, following the attacks in Brussels and Paris, the Belgian government had decided hastily the implementation of a range of security measures and racistic laws that attack the foundations of democracy in the country. “The evacuation and arrest of undocumented people last September 19, 2016 in Molenbeek, which took place with an extraordinary deployment of police forces (helicopters and heavy weapons) is symptomatic of the way the government is criminalizing undocumented migrants by turning them into potential terrorists. We can also see an intensification of raids carried out in working-class districts and in areas of exploitation of undocumented workers, in particular in Matongé and Saint Josse. In the post-terrorist context, the instrumentalization of fear enables the public authorities to put in place policies and safeguards that lead to mass surveillance.”
International Women's Day: IYCW Demands to Stop Gender Discrimination!
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Today is 8th March, the International Women's Day. This day reminds us of the long history of the struggle for women's rights which has been carried out until today. It reminds us especially of the demand for women’s suffrage, one of the demands brought forward in several countries as this special day historically evolved into a collective, international symbol.
“I was born in an indigenous community in Guatemala and my parents had to migrate to the capital city. I had to start working at the age of 14 to put myself through school. I have worked for two years at Coransa, a textile maquila (which later changed its name to Denimatrix), in the laundry section where I have a production target of 2,500 trousers that need to be revised to ensure they have no defects. Through the continuous process of education and action of YCW Guatemala we have seen the high level of exploitation and the workers’ rights being trampled on; they have long working hours and unpaid overtime. When I first started, the company had 3,200 workers, it currently has 1,800 and the company has used mass dismissals. – Nadia (YCW Guatemala)
The challenge of the digital revolution - The IYCW at the 2016 International Conference of NGOs
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The 2016 International Conference of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in partnership with the Unesco was held from 12 to 14 December in Paris. The conference focused on the theme “The challenge of the digital revolution for NGOs” and was organized around four subthemes: “The digital revolution and its impact on the diversity of cultural expressions”; “The challenge of access to digital information”; “Does e-learning address challenges of education systems worldwide?”; and, “Science and the digital revolution: which ethical implications?” The International YCW took an active part in it and made its contribution to the debate.
The digital issue is at the very heart of social stakes, resulting in new developments, opportunities but also major challenges. Therefore, all social organizations, but also the society as a whole, will have to face it. According to the Unesco, « The digital revolution has fundamentally altered the way in which cultural goods and services are produced, distributed and accessed. Indeed, the accelerated expansion of social networks and user generated content (UGC), the explosion of data created by cloud computing and the proliferation of connected multimedia devices – smartphones, tablets, phablets, e-readers – in the hands of the users have had a huge impact on the cultural scene, in both the global North and South. Technological changes have led to the emergence of new players and new logics»[1].
During the conference, the IYCW insisted on the two components of the “digital revolution.” It underlined on the one hand the opportunities it offers to our social organization, whether through communication, exchange, the capacity of mobilization, the intensification of interaction, or in terms of visibility, and on the other hand the dangers and challenges it poses, such as surveillance and the creation of monopolies. Increasingly precarious working conditions, in particular for young people, the promotion of consumerism, and most of all the negative impact on social security and social protection, including in the field of participation and financing (unpaid taxes and security of workers in companies) are dangers facing the world of work.
At the Conference, we had the opportunity to meet several friendly organizations, including representatives of the International Young Catholic Students (IYCS), the Centre Catholique International de Coopération avec l’Unesco (CCIC), and the Consejo Latinoamericano de Ciencias Sociales (CLACSO).
For more information, please visit the Unesco website.
[1] Unesco, 2015, “Diversity of Cultural Expressions in the Digital Age,” http://en.unesco.org/creativity/sites/creativity/files/exchange_session_digital_issues_en.pdf
