For the majority of young people in Northern Ireland life is getting more difficult rather than easier.

Despite forecasts in the past of a ‘peace dividend’, ordinary working class people and youth have seen little improvement in their daily lives, in fact the Assembly Executive’s policies are set to make things worse.

Unemployment is becoming an increasingly likely prospect for many young people. For 18-24 year olds, the rate of unemployment has increased by 4% to 11% in the last year alone. This adds to the difficulties facing young workers who often earn low levels of pay based on a discriminatory minimum wage. Last year saw a 3% rise in the minimum wage for workers aged 22 or over, bringing it to £5.52 despite an 11 year high of over 4% in the Retail Price Index of inflation. For younger workers, the minimum wage is even more appalling. The rate for 18- 21 year olds is now £4.60 and the rate for 16 and 17 year olds has increased up by 10p to £3.40.

What makes these levels of poverty pay and unemployment even more unbearable is the Assembly’s pro-big business agenda - cuts in the health service, funnelling public money into private pockets through PFI and PPP projects, privatising our water service, which will cause a huge rise in water bills and will add to the precarious situation facing many young workers.

For many students, the situation is the same: desperate. Increasing living costs combined with tuition fees of over £3,000 a year are either leaving students in crippling amounts of debt or are forcing them out of universities altogether.

Despite the Assembly flirting with the idea of a Scottish-style education system (which, contrary to popular belief, still leaves many students under a mountain of debt) no commitments have been made to offer students what they need - free education and a living grant for all.

These shortcomings are not mistakes on the Assembly’s part. Rather they are part of a conscious policy to put the interests of big business in front of the interests of workers and young people.

Socialist Youth believes that now, perhaps more than ever, it is necessary to organise a fightback against the neo- liberal attacks being made on workers and young people.

We are an active campaigning organisation, which fights against all forms of discrimination, sectarianism and exploitation and for a democratically run socialist alternative to the neo-liberal attacks of the Assembly parties.

Get involved: Join the fightback today! Join Socialist Youth

Come to this special Socialist Youth event to discuss the revolutionary events of 1968.

Sessions on: Revolution sweeps France, Civil Rights Movement, lessons for socialists today

Saturday 21st June – Socialist Party Offices, 13 Lombard St

ADMISSION FREE, For more info contact 07876146473

Student fees in the North are set to rise from £3,000 to £3,145 in the new university semester. But some university bosses are still not happy with that, threatening they want to raise fees to as much as £10,000 a year.

Before the Assembly was established the main sectarian parties said they opposed tuition fees. But they have suddenly dropped their opposition to fees since they got their hands on power.

Education is a right not a privilege. Economic background should not be a factor in deciding who should be “entitled” to education. Tuition fees are clearly an attack against working class young people. Most working people now cannot afford to finance their sons and daughters through university. This increase in fees will further cut off working class youth from being able to continue their studies. Recent figures show that the amount of people applying to study at universities in Northern Ireland is falling.

Socialist Youth fights for the scrapping of student fees, free education for all and a living grant for all students. Capitalism can’t deliver education for all, it is only interested in making profit. That is why the fight for free education also needs to be a fight for a socialist future.

On the 15 March nearly 300 people protested in Belfast city centre on a wet and miserable day to show their anger at the war and occupation of Iraq.

Billions of pounds are being wasted annually by the British government while local hospital units and schools are getting closed across Northern Ireland. 

Socialist Youth had a loud and very visible contingent on the demonstration arguing for a socialist solution to the crisis in the Middle East. We got an excellent response with a number of people joining on the day and more interested in finding out more.

I was an active member of Amnesty International since I was 15, however, now at 21 I have found myself having serious differences about how social injustices can be fought. I began to question whether cultural-themed parties or nights out in Guantanamo Bay jumpsuits, for example, were actually achieving anything. 

Admittedly, they probably do raise some awareness and provide a social aspect for the members. But they definitely have not stopped human rights violations taking place. I became increasingly frustrated that important local issues were often overlooked in favour of more international and media-friendly matters. There can be no doubt that many of Amnesty International’s causes are just, however, I felt that they did not tackle the root cause of inequality and human rights abuses.

Luckily, I met two members of the Socialist Party during a night out in Belfast. In retrospect it was probably neither the time nor place, however, I relayed my doubts about Amnesty to them. They suggested that I should attend a few meetings being held by the Socialist Party the following week – and so I did. I very quickly found myself drawn to the Socialist Party as it was clear that they were interested in changing society for the better, and more to the point, I felt that they had both the attitude and knowledge to do so.

After entering into discussions with numerous members about various social issues, I realised that the Socialist Party was right for me. Groups such as Amnesty International and other charities are attempting to solve issues which cannot be done under capitalism. In this respect, for me, socialism clearly is the only path to take for a permanent, practical solution to the world’s problems in the 21st century.