YTS: stop compulsion!

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reports on a new campaign to stop the Government forcing youth onto the YTS Leaflets will be sent out tell us that your organisaadvertising the pickets and tion is prepared to sponsor the model letters and resolutions day of action. SINCE November, the government's Youth Training Scheme (YTS) has been virtually compulsory.

Careers offices have been told to report refusers and "trainees" who leave a scheme to the Department of Employment who will then reduce their benefit.

The Birmingham YTS Action Group has picketed a meeting of the Area Manpower Board (the local supervising body for the scheme), making it clear that they expected the trade union representatives on the Board to be sticking to the TUC's policy of no compulsion and ne Ashworth were lobbying were lobbying the rest of the meeting on this issue.

This type of activity can draw together all the groups and invididuals concerned with fighting YTS.

Class Fighter has decided to try and organise a national day of action against compulsion.

We are asking organisations like unemployed groups, YS branches and YTS action groups to sponsor the day and to organise a picket of a Manpower Services Commission office. a careers office or a Job Centre in their own town. There will also be a campaign picket in central London.

To get maximum publicity we are asking all groups to organise on one day: March 21. There will be a national press release available and groups are encouraged to contract local press and radio.

The day of action has been deliberately chosen for a Wednesday since this is the best day to involve further education students who have more free time on Wednesdays.

Students aged 16 and 17 who are signing on are in danger of losing some of the supplementary benefit if they tell the Department of Employment that they would rather sidy un at college inan take a YTS place.

We suggest that meetings are called to discuss the day of action, inviting all groups which have an interest in YTS, including the civil service union CPSA and the Youth Trade Union Rights Campaign. The picket should ON Birmingham YTS action group lob submitted a petition, calling for such improvements as "qualified trainers and supervisors" , "increase in training equipment, e.g. typewriters" 'Pitman's to provide training materials (pens, pads, etc)" "'ensured work placement..; and "recognition of trainee s representatives"

Pitman's trainees were being • sent out on *work experience" , only to find themselves being used as "temps" , and sent back to the agency atter a couple of weeks. Others were not even getting onto a work placement as Pitman's had not reached agreements with enough employers. Within the training centre there were not enough basic facilities like desks and typewriters!

However, Pitman's responded swiftly to the trainees' petition, and met nine of the twelve demands contained in it. They even thanked the young women trainees for their "suggestions"! The explanation for this can only be fear of losing the approval of the Area Manpower Board, combined with the financial cost of losing any trainees, given that the occupancy rate was already less than 100%.

Mark Pitman, boss of Pitman Training Services, told the Times Educational Supplement that to break even required that around 80% of places should be occupied.

As the NATFHE report notes, "it is a strange and unexpected consequence of the rise of the private training agencies that trainees find themselves in a stronger bargaining position than expected. For many of the agencies are already in trouble due to the low take-up rate of YTS. The loss of any of their existing trainees would be a loss of their main or only source of income. Thus, the trainees, who trade unionists feared would be entirely at the mercy of Managing Agents and y the lo spo:

thei do stre trait men also post span a lunch-time to allow trade unionists to attend.

will also be available. Please ical Area Manpower Board nsors, find that despite ir non-employee status they have some bargaining ingth, at least in the private ning agencies."

he report is an indictit not just of the PTAs but ' of the MSC, who are suped to monitor the scheme.

A question not raised explicitly by the report is, just what are the union officials on the Area ManCLASS write to 214 Sickert Court, London N1 for leaflets and to COMPULSION power Boards doing if they give their approval to these cowboys to take charge of 16 and 17 year old youths? That is a question that rank and file trade unionists, and the trainees themselves might like to take up.

*The Great Training Robbery is available, price 50p, from Birmingham Trade Union Resource Centre, 7 Frederick Street, Birmingham BI ЗНЕ.

Newham 8 Papef

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