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Young workers

Young people must have the opportunity for decent jobs. Research consistently shows that young men and women are often marginalised. They must overcome more barriers than adults to secure decent employment. Worldwide, young people are three and a half times more likely to be unemployed. Steps must be taken to ensure that young people have access to education, training, and economic opportunities.

No to the Exploitation of Youth Through Precarious Work!

11 August 2016

On 12 August, International Youth Day, PSI's General Secretary Rosa Pavanelli inquires: "How can we eradicate inequality and achieve sustainable consumption and production in a world where future generations have nothing ahead but insecurity?"

Global trade union movement condemns unpaid internships, calls on UN to change policy

09 August 2016

In the lead up to International Youth Day, PSI joins NGOs and unions from around the world in calling for an end to unpaid internships. A growing resistance to the use of unpaid interns has led to the formation of a number of interns’ rights organisations such as the Fair Internship Initiative in Geneva and New York as well as the “We Pay Our Interns" coalition, a Geneva-based association of NGOs which commit to a charter on interns’ rights and lobby other employers to do the same.

Health Services Workers' Union of Ghana commemorates its 50th anniversary

17 July 2016
Photo: Rita Arthur

Under the theme ''50 years of organizing: consolidating the gains for greater prospects", HSWU held on the same ocasion its 11th quadrennial delegates conference in Kumasi, on 28-30 June, at the Great Hall of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST).

PSI International Young Worker's Conference for the commemoration of the 40 Years' Anniversary of the Soweto Uprising

28 June 2016

The International Young Workers’ Conference commemorating the 40 Year Anniversary of the 1976 Soweto Uprising was held from the 15-18 June at the Reef Hotel in Johannesburg. The conference is part of the flagship activities of the “Strengthening the Role of Young Workers Public Sector Trade Unions in South Africa” project, sponsored by UNISON.

PSI South Africa young workers hold its first national workshop in Johannesburg

19 April 2016
Young Workers pose for a group photo after the workshop

17 young workers coming from five PSI affiliates in South Africa were keen to deepen their understanding on the various aspects of the programme of action (POA), namely: education and organising; campaigns and awareness; research and information and international solidarity and exchange.

PSI holds its 20th AFREC in Nairobi

12 April 2016
PSI AFREC 2016

About 40 participants from 14 countries converged in the capital of Kenya from the 6th to the 8th of April to take part in the discussions brought up by the African Regional Executive Committee (AFREC).

Youth trade union training course

22 February 2016

A trade union training course for young unionists in Oceania took place on 8-12 February 2016 in Brisbane, Australia. PSI funding towards the course was approved at the 2015 Asia Pacific Regional Executive Committee (APREC).

PSI South Africa Young Workers’ Meeting

04 February 2016
South Africa young workers' meeting

On 21 January 2016, the South Africa Young Workers’ Meeting was held at PSI’s Sub-Regional Office in Johannesburg. This meeting is part of the effort to enhance the sustained implementation of the project “Strengthening the Role of Young Workers in Public Sector Trade Unions in South Africa”, which started in the last quarter of 2015, and will run until December 2016.

Young workers meet in Togo

22 November 2015

Over 20 young workers from the French-speaking African sub-region met in Lomé, Togo on 11-13 November 2015 to discuss the issues affecting young workers in the sub-region.

New Oceania Youth Network Coordinator

29 July 2015
Photo: Ashvini Ambihaipahar

Since early July 2015, Ms. Ashvini Ambihaipahar, 28, from the Communications, Electrical, Plumbing Union (CEPU), Australia, has been appointed as the new Oceania Youth Network Coordinator, succeeding Ms. Katie Rowsell.

International Workers' Day - 1 May 2015

28 April 2015
Police use water cannon againt protestors in Daegu, Korea

International Workers' Day is the commemoration of the 1886 Haymarket Massacre in Chicago, when police fired on workers during a general strike for the eight-hour workday.

Motivating young workers to join unions in Czech Republic

17 October 2014
Seminar on motivating youth membership

Twenty young workers representing seven affiliates from Slovakia and the Czech Republic gathered in Pavlov on 10-12 October 2014 for a three-day seminar aiming at motivating youth membership, organised by PSI and IMPACT, Ireland.

Young workers describe “emergency situation” to all major European Parliament groups

16 October 2014
Youth European Parliament

Young trade union shop stewards working in some of the key sectors of Europe’s economy – including transport, public services, food production, retail, metal, and media and the arts – drew a full crowd in the European Parliament on Tuesday 14 October to describe the dire reality facing young workers and jobseekers today.

Young trade unionists share best practice on migration

24 September 2014
Youth participants at a meeting in Baku, Azerbaijan

Around 40 participants attended a Pan-European Regional Council (PERC) Youth Committee Conference on Migration on 10-11 September. The meeting was held in Baku, Azerbaijan, on the invitation of the Azeri trade union confederation AHIK. Public Services International was represented by Cédric Dépollier, Young Workers’ Facilitator.

Caribbean young workers solidarity visit to Haïti

19 September 2014

A delegation of young workers from PSI’s affiliates in the Caribbean will pay a solidarity visit to young workers of the CTSP Haïti during the period October 16 to 20.

Youth to Youth - Bulletin 2011

05 December 2011

YOUTH TO YOUTH is the Asia Pacific Electronic news bulletin for young members in the region.

Annual Report 2010

05 April 2011

In the face of widening cuts to public services and attacks on the rights of public sector workers around the world, leaders of private and public sector trade unions, municipal governments and civil society groups made the unprecedented joint commitment to work together to promote investment in quality public services backed by fair taxation policies as the key solution to the economic crisis, and the best way to build peaceful, equitable, democratic and environmentally-sustainable societies.

Annual Report 2009

03 April 2010

Environmental and social sustainability provided the primary theme for PSI’s work in 2009. Leading into the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 15) in Copenhagen in December, trade unions and civil society allies worked hard to ensure that world leaders would agree on an ambitious plan to reduce carbon emissions. Alas, this dream did not become reality. But we are committed to continuing this struggle and achieving real results.

Annual Report 2008

03 April 2009

Looking back at 2008 the one word that comes to mind is CHANGE. We saw a dramatic change in the global economy, it was the keyword in the US election and we initiated changes in PSI.