Young workers in Ireland are increasingly struggling and facing deeper financial insecurity.
Prices have been going up and up, but the minimum wage fails to keep pace.
Young workers are often employed in low paid and precarious industries like hospitality and retail, with job insecurity, unstable hours, hostile bosses and no trade union representation.
Many young workers are working while also attending third level education and are forced to work longer hours without days off to make ends meet.
Apprentices are often paid less than the minimum wage while learning their trade, and a recent survey showed that 84% of trainee tradespeople have had to cut down on essentials like food and heat and have had to work extra jobs o get by.
The wages of young people simply do not match the price of rent, food and other essentials in Ireland.
Housing prices and rents continue to skyrocket, making it impossible for young people to afford accommodation. 68% of young people between the ages of 25 and 29 are still living at home, which is considerably higher than in the rest of Europe and has doubled in the last ten years.
Student housing is also increasing by the year, with many students being forced to defer due to unaffordability or to commute from home for hours every day.
Young people are facing no alternative but to fight back. Militant left calls for young people to get organised to fight for real jobs with decent pay, good terms and conditions and trade union representation, as well as an end to exploitative unaffordable rents and the housing crisis.
The trade unions must lead the way and mobilise the young workers within their ranks.
We also call for free third level education, with no financial barriers and access for working class people, as well as well-paid apprenticeships.
The crises facing young workers in Ireland today, North and South, are an indictment of the capitalist system. This system must go.
