ALP focuses on 'training' wages

By Alison Dellit The launch of the ALP's youth initiatives on January 29 continued the federal government's trend of encouraging low youth "training" wages and government subsidies to business. Sounding much like an earlier Labor PM's pledge that "no child will live in poverty by the year 1990", Keating pledged to give all 15-19 year olds the chance of employment, training or education by the year 2000. Despite the hype, however, there is very little that is new in the proposals. Labor's 5% youth unemployment target is based on some very dubious figures. According to the ALP, the current level of youth unemployment is not 27% (the percentage of young workers who are unable to find a job), but 9%. The plan to reduce unemployment centres on moving all young people into either full-time education or low-paid training positions. The Australian Vocational Training System (AVTS) will be implemented in all schools nationally over the next few years. At year 11, students will be forced to choose whether they want to complete an academic stream, which leads to university, or join AVTS, which leads to a traineeship. Under AVTS, students will complete a technical-style education, combined with one day a week training in the work force — without pay. At the end of year 12, AVTS students will be eligible to apply for a four-year traineeship at a wage of $250-300 per week. In return for providing this training, businesses get hefty subsidies. Under the Jobs Pathway Guarantee, the government offers extra subsidies to businesses which guarantee a traineeship to students. This project has been on the drawing board for some time, and aspects of it are already being implemented in some schools. Despite the numerous handouts offered, business has proved reluctant over the last three years to take on young people as permanent employees. The latest package is designed to make school leavers as attractive as possible to business and will have the effect of pushing all wages down — workers who demand higher rates of pay can easily be replaced by trainees.

Work for dole

Also promoted at the launch was the expansion of LEAP. The LEAP scheme is a form of work for the dole in which young people spend three months working on "environmental" initiatives — planting trees and gardening. At the end of the scheme, the participants are presented with a certificate, but no job. Keating is proposing the expansion of LEAP into rural areas, where the main employers will be family farms, usually in isolated areas. Young people will spend three months providing free labour to farmers before receiving their certificate. This will, according to ALP press releases, make them more eligible for environmental traineeships. Complementary to the expansion of LEAP is the introduction of "Green Volunteers". These teams, composed primarily of young unemployed, will take on 120 of the government's promised conservation projects. Employment minister Simon Crean describes the project as a bridge for young people into environmental traineeships. These environmental employment initiatives expose the ALP's ongoing commitment not to spend money on the environment. The focus is not on creating environmental jobs but on using unpaid workers to complete environmental work that is currently being undertaken by paid workers. These initiatives will actually cost jobs. The only job creation promised in the statement was the provision of another 4000 public service traineeships and 200 Telstra traineeships. Because workers are still being made redundant in both these areas, trainees will in effect replace fully waged workers. Other initiatives in the report include an anti-drug education campaign, job placement schemes (rather than housing) for homeless youth and a significant expansion of the Radio 2JJJ network, which has ensured the government plenty of positive airplay on this major youth station.

Response

Youth peak bodies have reacted favourably to the statement. Paul Rajan, chairperson of the Australian Youth Policy Action Coalition, said "AYPAC has been calling on both the government and the opposition to set a 5% target around youth unemployment and develop a strategy around that target for the past 12 months. That the government has is a clear sign it is listening to the concerns of young people, AYPAC and the youth sector." The National Union of Students responded in a similar vein in a media release titled "Students welcome focus on youth issues". The socialist youth organisation Resistance was the only organisation to publicly condemn the ALP statement. Brisbane Resistance organiser and Democratic Socialist candidate for Brisbane Zanny Begg said: "The ALP's package offers nothing for young people. Forcing them to work for the dole, slave wages or no wages at all under the pretence of 'training' will not solve youth unemployment and will leave more young people in poverty. "The Democratic Socialists will be campaigning for job creation in areas which will benefit the whole of society, not just business, such as health care, education and environmental clean-up. These jobs should pay real wages funded by an increase in corporate tax and cutting subsidies to major companies."