Hastings youth ready to fight for jobs
A new protest group fighting unemployment has attracted hundreds of supporters in its first few weeks.
Youth Fight for Jobs (YFJ) is a national campaign which launched a Hastings branch earlier this year.
Its members have been manning stalls in the town centre signing people up to the cause and warning against the threat of a 'lost generation' caused by the recession.
Set up in 2008 with the backing of several trade unions, the YFJ is determined to highlight the impact economic cuts will have and give young people a voice through which they can fight for their futures.
Jon Redford, 22, is overseeing the Hastings group.
"Our members tend to be between 17 and 20 but they come from a mixture of backgrounds," he said.
"We have a lot of people who are at university or going there next year and who are very worried about further education cuts, seen dramatically at the University of Sussex, and are very worried about their long-term job prospects.
"It is meant as a protest movement along the lines of the 1980s organisations and a reaction against the mainstream parties as a whole.
"We do not see any real differences between their attitudes to the cuts."
Figures released in January showed eight per cent of 16-25-year-olds in Hastings were unemployed, the ninth highest in the country and the only town south of Birmingham in the top 10.
"Hastings is quite deprived as it is and if large cuts are made to the public sector then Hastings will be disproportionately hit by those cuts, too.
"We are looking at a generation lost to unemployment unless we do something about it," said Mr Redford.
"It is not just about people who are unemployed, but also people who are underemployed, working in low-wage, low-aspiration positions, the so-called McJobs."
So far 400 people have signed YFJ petitions and the group is now looking to develop that support into a local movement.
And it is not just economic issues which resonate for the people of 1066 Country.
"A big part of the movement is anti the British National Party (BNP).
"People are turning to them as the party of the working class because of their despair and disappointment with things in this country.
"We want to offer a positive alternative to that."
YFJ is holding a rally in Barking tomorrow, Saturday. To find out more email hastingsyfj@googlemail.com or visit youthfightforjobs.com.
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Bexhill-on-Sea
Monday 13 February 2012
Today
Light rain
Temperature: 2 C to 8 C
Wind Speed: 16 mph
Wind direction: West
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: 4 C to 8 C
Wind Speed: 17 mph
Wind direction: North
