Each year since 1977, from 24th April to 1^st May, the IYCW has been organizing a series of actions and activities during the International Week of the Young Workers which ends with the traditional May Day celebration. The year 2017 could not be different. All over the world, young workers and YCW leaders carried out actions against job precariousness and instability, against all sorts of inequalities they may face in their daily life. They exposed the social, political, economic and cultural problems which keep affecting the working and living conditions of millions of young women and men throughout the world.

This year in Brussels, to close the International Week of the Young Workers, the IYCW took an active part in the May Day celebration in Laeken, remembering the 50^th anniversary of Joseph Cardijn’s death and proclaiming enthusiastically that “Yes, Cardijn is still relevant today”.

This celebration took place in the church of “Our Lady” in Laeken. It gathered nearly 600 people - current and former YCW leaders, as well as many former members from Belgium but also from France, the Americas, Africa and Asia.

The International Council of the International Young Christian Workers was a timely event organized by its activists every 4 years to identify where the movement is today, and how it will go forward. Our fast-evolving world has generated closer interaction among people but it has created different situations in every country and continent. These developments have had consequences and impact in the world of work, affecting thousands of workers, and young workers in particular.

The three-week activity started on September 21 and ended on October 9, 2016. It began with the exchange program hosted by YCW Germany, YCW Wallonia and YCW Flanders in 5 key cities in Europe, namely Brussels, Liege, Aachen, Munster and Wurzburg. 27 national movements took part in it, interacting and interchanging information about different realities of the young workers today: precarious work, temporary workers, migrants, refugees, unemployed, informal workers and gender discrimination at work.  

From February 11^th to 13^th, 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.