Documents and reports

 Columbia: letter of protest assassination of Carmen Cecilia Santana Romaña

 Solidarity letter with Columbian Trade Unionists   [En]   [ES]

 PSI Young workers Resolution - letter to all PSI European affiliates

Dear trade union friends!

All across Europe young people are fighting for their rights as young employees. Very recently, French students and workers were demonstrating against a law proposal that could allow the employer to easily fire young workers in their first two years of employment. This example shows that continuous attention on young workers’ issues is necessary.

The PSI European Youth Forum (EYF) tries to strengthen the position of young workers in the public sector. At the European Regional Conference, held in Geneva in September 2005, the EYF presented a resolution on youth issues within our trade unions. PSI European affiliates have unanimously accepted this resolution, which you can find enclosed with this letter.

With this letter we would like to remind you of the actions the resolution includes. We kindly ask you to pay specific attention to young workers issues in your trade union policies.

For many trade unions specific youth policies are new. We would like to build up practical cooperation amongst young public sector workers, through a network that we call ”PSI Connect”. The EYF members will be glad to answer your questions or help you in developing youth actions or youth structures.

In young solidarity,

Linn Hemmingsen

Chair of PSI European Youth Forum

19. June, 2006

This document is available in following languages:

[EN]   [FR]   [DE]   [SW]   [RU]   [ES]

 Youth resolution

PSI European Regional Conference
28-30 September 2005
Switzerland, ILO Geneva
 

RESOLUTION PROPOSAL BY PSI CONNECT

Young people are the future of PSI, trade unions and the work force in general; at the same time, they have particular needs,  problems and pressures. The European Youth Forum, also known as PSI CONNECT, wants to ensure that young workers’ issues are  constantly on the agenda within PSI’s European Regional Organisation. PSI CONNECT invites the European Regional Conference to make the following commitments:
 

1) PSI affiliated unions will take action towards their governments to achieve a good working environment for all. Only then  can workers achieve their full potential;
2) PSI affiliated unions believe in the importance of recruitment and retention of young people for their union, both now and  in the future, and will take action to recruit and involve young people, by:

a) Developing (new) youth structures at all levels of the union;
b) Creating specific activities for young members, such as educational activities;
c) Developing regular interchanges between trade union leaders and young members;

3) PSI affiliated unions will take action against the exploitation of children through child labour, especially where it is connected to prostitution, drugs or crime;
4) PSI affiliated unions will take action against discrimination of young workers in terms of wages or working conditions;
5) PSI affiliated unions will take action to reduce youth unemployment and to ensure that young people get full-time jobs and/or contracts that allow a decent living standard;
6) PSI affiliated unions will make finances and facilities available for the development of a specific seminar programme for unions having particular problems in their youth work.

These actions will take place within the broader context of the protection of trade union rights in the public sector, especially where these rights are limited or undermined by the state, thus infringing internationally recognised labour standards.

Youth resolution (PDF format) is available for download in following languages:

[EN]   [FR]   [DE]   [SW]   [RU]   [ES]

 PSI European Youth Charter

Young workers are the future of PSI, the trade unions, the work force; at the same time they have particular needs, problems and pressures.

This PSI European Youth Charter aims to support young people as they make a start in the world of work, to encourage them, to share their hopes and enthusiasm. It also aims to directly address the issues they care about and the problems they face. Trade unions must address the needs of young workers. It is a question of social justice and creating a future for the trade union movement itself.

European Youth Charter contents:

1. Introduction;

2. International Solidarity;

3. Key Issues for Young Workers;

4. Recruiting, Organising and Retaining Young Workers;

5. Equality;

6. Trade Union Services for Young Workers;

7. Short Checklist for Youth Groups and Young Activists amongst PSI Affiliates;

European Youth Charter (PDF format) is available for download in following languages:

[EN]   [FR]   [DE]   [SW]  [RU]   [ES]