** Issue 15, Vol 9:17 August 2012
*In this issue:* - YCLSA on the Youth Employment Accord tabled at NEDLAC<#13934c35564b5eff_one> [image: Viewpoint by Yershen Pillay]YCLSA on the Youth Employment Accord tabled at NEDLAC *Yershen Pillay, National Chairperson of the Young Communist League of South Africa writes:* As the Young Communist League of South Africa, we represent students and youth from poor working class backgrounds and acknowledge that youth unemployment is both a local and global challenge. In 2004, the International Labour Organisation estimated that halving youth unemployment would raise the global GDP by 2.2 trillion US dollars which was 4% of global GDP in 2003. Evidently increasing employment opportunities for youth will have a significant impact on the GDP both nationally and on a global scale. 40% of South African youth are unemployed by the narrow definition and over 60% by the broad definition. It is fundamental to point out that the sectorial shifts in the local economy from primary to tertiary have mostly benefited skilled youth. The marginalised, non-studying, unemployed youth have suffered the most and continue to suffer. Racial Disparities in youth unemployment are significant, with poor black African youth being the worst affected, especially considering the 72% national unemployment rate of which, 50% are poor black African youth. According to a Cape area panel study conducted in 2002, only 1% of black African youth successfully made the transition from school to work, whereas 93% of white youth had worked in the last 12 months before taking the interview. Concentrated, priority interventions are needed for poor black African youth. With urbanisation in Africa being higher than in any other part of the developing world, rural underdevelopment is a contributing factor to joblessness amongst youth. A more effective rural youth development strategy is therefore needed. Considering hunger is an indicator of poverty, 48% of households with young people between the ages of 15 and 34 in 2009, were households that reported hunger. This decreased between 2002 and 2007 and then increased sharply in 2008. The trend is that more and more young people are being trapped into poverty with education as a contributing factor. Poor performance of primary schools and low matric exemption passes with only 19.8% in 2009, and 40% of those who enroll in institutions of higher learning in the first year. FET colleges are the most important providers of intermediate level technical and vocational skills yet they remain under-resourced and not ideally located. An example of this is in the hairdressing and hospitality industries where 80 to 90% of graduates found employment upon completion of their qualifications. In consideration of solutions and approaches to youth unemployment, the Young Communist League of South Africa rejects the youth wage subsidy as a neo-liberal policy instrument, a silver bullet aimed at the national youth unemployment crisis that simply won’t work. Investing R5 billion into a single intervention in the form of a youth wage subsidy is not in our interests as the youth and is only a temporary measure for a deeply structural problem. The youth wage subsidy remains a conventional solution for a rather unconventional problem and does not adequately respond to the peculiar nature and dynamics of the South African youth labour market. It is not an appropriate policy instrument to address the structural youth unemployment or to even consider spending R5 billion on a single policy instrument. The opportunity costs of the proposed youth wage subsidy are simply too high. White monopoly capital will stand to benefit the most through the creation of a quasi slave economy dominated by youth workers. Pick and Pay for example will hire a youth worker at a cost of R2 500 and claim back R5 000 in tax credits. The subsidy can be easily manipulated by white monopoly capital hence the support it receives by the likes of the Democratic Alliance and Business. A long term, multi-pronged strategy with a multiplicity of interventions is needed to combat youth unemployment. A *National Youth Employment Strategy*for the next 50 years will holistically coordinate efforts by avoiding duplication and maximising existing resources. *Legislation, policy and additional financial commitments are needed in the following five interventions:* 1. The *National Youth Service* must be legislated. 2. The *Right to Work for Youth* as socio economic right that shall be progressively realised must be legislated. 3. An enabling Tax Legislation and Re-introduction of Small Business Tax Amnesty Act that was repealed in 2010. 4. An enabling Cooperatives Legislation with *introduction of Cooperatives Colleges to complement Cooperatives Development Agency.* *Economic commitments:* 1. Infrastructure projects must have youth employment plans otherwise service providers cannot be considered in the trillions spent 2. Preferential procurement for cooperatives that contain 80% youth. *Social commitments:* 1. An unhealthy youth is an unproductive youth. There is a need for a commitment from business, civil society and the state towards health and well being interventions in society. *Educational and skills development interventions:* 1. Higher levels of higher education equal higher returns to society; we therefore need more investment into Higher Education. Instead of spending R5 Billion on a single intervention, these funds can be distributed amongst five different interventions over a considerable, realistic period of time. We as the Young Communist League of South Africa support the idea of a youth employment accord; but this accord must be supplemented by a* National Youth Employment Plan for 2050*. This long term plan must seek to address the structural deformities and inequalities in the economy for greater absorption and active participation of young South Africans into the economy. This plan must look at strategic interventions for transforming the economic base. Ownership and control of the means of the production remains largely in the hands of white monopoly capital such as the Ruperts, Oppenheimers, Cristo Wiese etc. So the rich get richer while the poor get poorer. Thus a radical, bold and comprehensive plan is needed. -- You are subscribed. This footer can help you. 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