Public Services International February/2015: Economic and Social Council Youth Forum

Youth to Youth is the Asia Pacific news bulletin for young members in the region.
It
is published every two months by the Public Services International Asia Pacific
Regional Organisation (PSI-APRO). Should you wish to contribute to this bulletin
or news subscription, please contact: [email protected]
Public Services International
February/2015
Young people have the opportunity to contribute to the post-2015 development agenda adopted by the United
Nations. This rather ambitious, long-term agenda aims at tackling many issues to promote a world of prosperity,
equity, freedom, dignity and peace.
0n 2-3 February 2015, the UN Head-Office in New York held the Economic and Social Council Youth Forum. The
forum brought together young people from around the world to discuss ways in which to maximize the
engagement of young people in the transition from Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs). Young peoples contributions are essential to devising sustainable and targeted
measures to foster inclusive practices of decision-making and deliberation on sustainable development issues.
Watch the archived videos on the UN ECOSOC website.
PSI affiliates joined the ITUC, ITF, EI and other Global Unions affiliates
around the world for the Global Day of Action for the Right to Strike on 18
February.
From Japan, Korea, Indonesia, India, Thailand, Russia, Turkey, Belgium, Spain,
Switzerland, Tunisia, Botswana, South Africa, Canada, to Argentina and
Columbia and in many other countries, workers joined actions in defence of
the right to strike.
The day of action took place a few weeks before the ILO Governing Body has to take a decision, in March 2015, on
the resolution of a conflict that has had a chilling effect on the ILO supervisory mechanism since 2012. If no
agreement can be reached, PSI supports the referral to the International Court of Justice for an advisory opinion on
the matter, as foreseen in the ILO Constitution. Read more about PSI actions on the right to strike.
A new ILO report, World Employment and Social Outlook Trends 2015, forecasts
worsening global unemployment levels and explains the factors behind this, such
as continuing inequality and falling wage shares. The report addresses structural
factors shaping the world of work, including an aging population and shifts in the
skills sought by employers.
The global employment gap, which measures the number of jobs lost since the
start of the crisis, currently stands at 61 million. If new labour market entrants over the next five years are taken
into account, an additional 280 million jobs need to be created by 2019 to close the global employment gap caused
by the crisis. Youth, especially young women, continue to be disproportionately affected by unemployment. Almost
74 million young people (aged 1524) were looking for work in 2014. The youth unemployment rate is practically
three times higher than is the case for their adult counterparts. The heightened youth unemployment situation is
common to all regions and is occurring despite the trend improvement in educational attainment, thereby fuelling
social discontent. For more information, download a summary or the full report, and watch the video.
This ILO paper At work but earning less: Trends in decent pay and minimum wages for young people
reviews existing literature and analyses recent data on young workers earnings. The findings of the paper point to
the increase over time of the youth wage discount, i.e. the wage gap between adult and young workers. The
widening of this gap has resulted in a reduced purchasing power of young workers and increased polarization of
their earnings, compared to adult workers.
The paper also reviews the minimum wage policy of several countries and shows that, in some of them, young
people are often subject to a wage that is lower than the minimum one (the so called youth or sub-minimum wage).
The internationally-accepted principle of equal remuneration for work of equal value sees the value of the work
performed as main criterion for wage determination, irrespective of the workers age.
One key function of the minimum wage is to protect earnings at the lower end of the pay scale and, by
redistributing income, to boost aggregate demand through the multiplier effect. Most importantly, it prevents
labour market discrimination on any grounds. Together with the lowering of employment protection of young
workers, the setting of a sub-minimum wage for youth is perhaps one of the most controversial dimensions of the
literature on youth employment, particularly with respect to the impact of statutory minimum wage on
employment. Download the full report from the ILO website.
The world is facing a worsening youth employment crisis: young people are
three times more likely to be unemployed than adults and almost 73 million
youth worldwide are looking for work. Jane Stewart, Director of ILO Office for
UN explains why youth employment should be at the top of the new
development framework. Watch the full video.
PSI is pleased to share with you its young workers Facebook page and Twitter
feed specifically created to share information and mobilise around issues of
concern to young workers.
Join us now like our Facebook page and follow @PSI4Youth on Twitter.
Youth to Youth
Page 2
Korea's finance chief has been touting the need to overhaul the labour market in an attempt to reduce the
relatively high youth unemployment rate in the country.
Speaking about next year's economic policy directions on major news stations, Choi Kyung-hwan emphasised the
need to reduce economic polarization, to create more jobs especially for young people. He recognised the
difficulties of carrying out structural reform, but said it was necessary, especially as big corporations are hiring
fewer full-time employees amid economic uncertainties at home and abroad. According to data from Statistics
Korea, the jobless rate for the 15 to 29 age group was seven-and-a-half percent in November, much higher than the
overall unemployment rate. The finance minister also stated that the government will work to expand the social
security net. Watch the video on Arirang News.
In the face of a strong and united opposition movement, the Peruvian

government has revoked a controversial new youth labour law. The
legislation, which would have cut salaries, holidays and severance payments
for workers under 25 amongst other measures, was repealed in Congress
late January by a massive majority of 91 in favour, 18 against and five
abstentions.
These workers would have not only received fewer holidays but they would also have been subject to reduced
But it took
big demonstrations
organised
by a coalition
trade
unions,
bonuses and no severance pay on termination
of afive
contract.
The law, according
to statistics,
wouldofhave
affected
some 260,000 young Peruvian workers.
Read the
full
article onofthe
Times
students
and
members
civilEqual
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thewebsite.
first on 19 December 2014 and
the last while Congress was voting in January to secure the repeal.
The 6th ASEAN Regional Tripartite Social Dialogue was held in Nay Pyi
Taw, Myanmar from 13-14 January 2015. PSI representatives included Ms.
Alita Dewi Komalasari, youth representative from Indonesia (PJB Union),
and PSI regional staff.
The discussion focused strengthening decent work for women workers. Delegates considered the impact on women
workers of ASEAN economic integration and reviewed regional and national policies. They also reviewed the
strategic action plan that aims at narrowing the legislative gaps in order to overcome the barriers to women's full
economic and social participation, in particular, increasing decent jobs for women, ending gender discrimination in
the workplace and eliminating the gender wage gap. For more information and the full report, please contact:
[email protected].
Organised by Young NTUC, the youth wing of the Labour Movement in

Singapore, NTUC Income RUN 350, is Southeast Asia's premier eco-run in
support of the global 350 movement. This movement aims to raise awareness to
the need to lower atmospheric CO2 levels to 350 parts per million, which
scientists believe is the level required for Earth's sustainability.
First held in 2010 with 1,000 runners, by 2014 the run had grown in stature with
more than 12,000 runners involved.
Registration for the 2015 run ends on 28 February 2015. For more information on
the run see the NTUC Income RUN 350 website.
Youth to Youth
Page 3
The Trade in Service Agreement (TISA) is aiming to commodify health

care services globally, with higher costs for governments and poorer
performance for patients, to the benefit of large health corporations and
insurance companies.
The proposal would raise health care costs in developing countries and lower quality in
developed countries in Europe, North America, Australia and elsewhere, explains Dr
Odile Frank, who has analysed the document for Public Services International (PSI).
The proposal, reportedly tabled by the government of Turkey, was discussed by EU member states last September
at the Geneva TISA negotiations. It suggests an annex on health care services in the TISA that would promote
offshoring by facilitating patients travel abroad to access health services.
According to PSI, the TISA proposal assumes that health services are a commodity like any other that can be
handled by the market. Establishing trade in health services ignores public health aspects and will exacerbate
inequality. Read PSIs full press release.
The Global Labour Institute (GLI) International Summer School: an open space to
debate and question what are, and what should be, the politics of the international
trade union movement.
This years International Summer School will be held 6-10 July 2015 at the Northen
College UK. Union Delegates are nominated each year by supporting trade unions
and international federations, with an emphasis on encouraging young activists. If
you wish to participate, contact your union. If you are not sure who to contact in
your union, GLI can advise. Individual participants are welcome to apply, subject to
spaces being available.
See the GLI website for more information and registration.
In 2015, the international trade union movement will face several challenges.
Sharan Burrow, General Secretary of the International Trade Union
Confederation (ITUC), expresses her views on these challenges - in particular the
right to strike and Global Supply Chains that will be discussed at the ILO in 2015
and 2016. Her interview with ILO ACTRAV highlighted that the global economic
environment remains very hostile for working people.
The global economy is still not fixed, with unemployment still above the level at the start of the global financial
crisis, and hundreds of millions of workers without jobs or social protection. Democratic space is being limited in
more and more countries, and the level of trust in governments and institutions is lower than at any time in recent
history. Union growth is essential if we are to be able to re-shape the world in a way, which delivers social and
economic justice. Read the full interview on the ILO website.
Public Services International Asia Pacific Regional Organisation (PSI APRO)

Regional Secretary: Ms. V. Lakshmi
Wisma AUPE, 295 Upper Paya Lebar Road Singapore 534929 |Tel: +65.6282.3219 Fax +65.6280.4919 | E-mail:
[email protected]
Connect with us: Facebook , Twitter (@PSIglobalunion), YouTube, Flickr

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Youth to Youth is the Asia Pacific news bulletin for young members in the region.

Public Services International

In the face of a strong and united opposition movement, the Peruvian

Organised by Young NTUC, the youth wing of the Labour Movement in

The Trade in Service Agreement (TISA) is aiming to commodify health

Public Services International Asia Pacific Regional Organisation (PSI APRO)

Connect with us: Facebook , Twitter (@PSIglobalunion), YouTube, Flickr

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