UN International Youth Day - 12th August 2007

Statement from Public Services International

More and more young people are being seen and heard through their trade unions, where their demands include decent pay and working conditions for young workers around the world, and the implementation of the UN Millennium Development Goals, according to Public Services International (PSI). The 20 million-strong global trade union federation is to host a Young Workers’ Meeting ahead of its 28th World Congress in Vienna next month, where young trade union leaders will explore imaginative ways to increase young people’s participation and effectiveness in trade unions and the workplace. The Congress will also mark 100 years of the PSI.

The 12th August United Nations International Youth Day has the theme “Be seen, be heard: youth participation for development.” The theme of the PSI Young Workers’ Meeting is “Give young workers a voice.”

PSI General Secretary, Hans Engelberts, said active participation by young people was influencing trade unions’ priorities. “Young people are better off with the protection of a trade union and they want their unions to play a bigger role in campaigns on global warming, poverty, education, equality and better public services for young people and their communities. PSI’s Young Workers’ meeting will challenge union leaders to prioritize these concerns. It will also help empower young people who want to be more involved in their unions,” he said.