In a continuously evolving labour market where young workers are increasingly facing precariousness if not unemployment, trade unions’ renovation is imperative in order to respond and to be able to address the challenges ahead. This renovation passes through the rejuvenation of Trade Unions’ structures and strategies.
Young workers face common challenges in all sectors throughout European countries. It is both possible and necessary to learn from each other’s experience and, in some cases, even establish common strategies. This project aimed at giving the possibility to young workers and young trade unionists to meet, share their good practices on the involvement of youth into their Trade Unions, discuss challenges, prepare recommendations to improve the situation and plan and implement common actions.
Through interviews, conferences, seminars and workshops, young workers from all over Europe and across all the industry sectors – represented by the six European Industry Federations (ETUFs) EFBWW, EFFAT, EPSU, ETF, IndustriAll Europe and UNI Europa – were able to put together a booklet which gathers good practices, concerns and recommendations.
The main deliverable of this finalised project is the publication of a booklet called “Just go for it – a compendium of best practices from all over Europe on involving young people in Trade Unions”. It provides an overview of good examples coming from different unions in different parts of Europe on how to integrate young people into Trade Unions. The title was chosen by the participants themselves to stress that young people need to be the driving force of the change and that they have to take the lead… they have to “just go for it”.
The booklet, which is available in English, French, German and Italian, was created by the young unionists themselves. This sense of ownership on the “final product” is going to enhance its dissemination and it will be used by the young affiliates of the 6 European Federations to involve and attract more young workers and unionists.
The booklet and its findings will also be disseminated through the ETUFs’ campaign website “Enough of their crisis – Back 2 our future” http://www.back2ourfuture.org/.
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