By Sarah Peart
Unemployment among 15 to 19 year olds has now reached 29.9%, or close to 90,000 people. The unemployment benefits of 46,000 young people were cut with the Coalition's introduction of the common youth allowance (CYA) on July 1. Some 13,000 lost their benefits.
In the frantic lead-up to the federal elections, the Labor Party is trying to convince young people that it has solutions.
Labor has promised to restore full unemployment benefits to 15,000 jobless youth by removing the parental means test introduced with the CYA. This applies only to those aged between 18-20 who have been out of work for more than six months. Around 31,000 young people will still be without an income.
While Labor spokespeople wax lyrical about opposing the work for the dole scheme, its "reciprocal obligations" policy — borrowed from Blair's "new Labour" in Britain — is much the same.
Young unemployed will be forced to participate in one of a number of programs, similar to the Working Nation scheme introduced by Labor in the early 1990s, or lose their benefits. In other words, the idea that young people should work for the dole remains. This should not be surprising; Labor helped the Coalition pass its work for the dole scheme in the first place.
"While Labor claims that these programs will give young people 'real work experience', and improve their skills to get a better job, the reality is that they will force young people to work in order to have the right to basic requirements such as food, clothing and shelter", Resistance national coordinator Wendy Robertson told Green Left Weekly.
"The burden of youth unemployment should not be shouldered by young people who are forced to work for practically nothing. Working for the dole undermines award wages and conditions of all working people."
"Neither Labor nor Liberal have any idea how to solve the problem of youth unemployment", Marina Carman, the Democratic Socialists' NSW candidate for the Senate added.
"Young people are being shoved into dead-end 'training schemes' and getting wages below the poverty line. Democratic Socialists defend young people's right to a livable income and meaningful jobs. We demand an end to lousy trainee and apprentice wages, and insist they be replaced with full adult wages for all young workers and trainees.
"The problem of unemployment needs to be addressed through increased government spending on job creation. There are many jobs that need to be done, such as fixing the environment, caring for the elderly and sick, building schools and hospitals, and the list goes on. Young people should receive a real livable income, instead of giving subsidies to big business in the form of less taxes", Carman said.