Socialist Youth's End Low Pay Campaign has begun taking on low pay bosses across Ireland. Those paying slave wages are shamed weekly at stalls in Cork, Limerick and Dublin.

Now, Socialist Youth plans to step up our campaign against the bosses and the government. In October, we will be holding Days of Action against low pay across Ireland. We will highlight and expose the exploitation of particularly bad employers, but also will be taking protest action to expose the government who have legalised low pay and to demand that a minimum wage of €10 per hour is implemented for all workers immediately.

Most young people, whether they be full-time workers, school students or college students, work somewhere and suffer massive exploitation. The kind of jobs they have are in general badly-paid service industry jobs, like in pubs, shops, restaurants or petrol stations, where the conditions and the way the workers are treated are even worse than the wages. At the same time as the workers are treated and paid like slaves, these companies are making massive profits. The government has legalised slave wages, with its minimum wage of €7 per hour, and even worse its exemptions that allow anyone under 18 to be paid €4.90 per hour.

This type of low paid employment represents the future for all of us, unless we fight back. The government and the bosses want to see Ireland join the race to the bottom across Europe, with low wages and bad conditions being the norm. Over the past 20 years, there has been a massive shift in wealth from workers to the bosses, with wages dropping from 60% of GDP to 52%, while profits for business have increased from 30% to 40%. The low pay of young people and immigrant workers is a way for them to intensify this shift of wealth from the workers to the bosses.

But just because the government has legalised and encourages our exploitation doesn't mean we have to accept it. Young workers still have power by taking action together to get wage rises and improvements in conditions. Socialist Youth wants to assist any worker that wants to fight back against their boss. If you are exploited and fed up with it, do something about it, contact the End Low Pay Campaign and start to fight for a decent wage in your workplace!

Check out the End Low Pay Campiagn and Socialist Youth websites at www.endlowpay.tk and www.socialistyouth.tk

Socialist Voice spoke to 'Jay' (not his real name), a young worker in Cork, about his experiences of being "traded" from employer to employer by recruitment agencies.

SV: Tell us about your first job.

Jay: The first job I got was with Apple. I was employed by a recruitment agency and farmed out to Apple on a three month temporary contract. Wages were OK but there was no job stability. You could be let go at a moment's notice and rehired again months down the road.

SV: And you were let go?

Jay: Yeah. And when I was let go I was unemployed for three weeks and would have lost my accomodation if I didn't sign up with Noel Recruitment who hired me out for €7 an hour. These jobs were in warehouses and factories and would change from week to week.

SV: Where did you go from there?

Jay: After that I worked in security. This was direct employment by the company at a little over €8 an hour. Most of it was night work and there was no such thing as time and a half. Some of the work was outside off-licences. You got no training or no radio. You were meant to be some kind of human deterrent but the company wasn't interested in safety or anything.

SV: Where are you now?

Jay: I've got a better job now. I'm working for O'Neill and Brennan construction sub-contractors for €12.77 an hour. But like with Apple you could be out of a job in the future if the work drops off.

SV: How did you find trying to live on these wages?

Jay: Forget saving on the minimum wage because it can't be done. I can live on my current wage but take out €70 or €80 rent per week, food and bills and it's still going to take a long time to even have something basic like my own transport.

SV: Did the Unions ever help you?

Jay: It was mandatory to join SIPTU with the recruitment agencies. But I never heard from SIPTU about who my shop steward was or anything. It was just €3 off my payslip every week.

SV: What do you think should be done to improve the lot of young workers?

Jay: A minimum wage of €10 an hour would be a start although if you had kids there's no way you could live on so little money. We've also got to get rid of these sub-contractors and recruitment agencies. They produce nothing. They do nothing but leech on your payslip.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has recommended that the government re-introduce fees for students.

In reality the OECD is flagging up the issue of fees or alternatives like student loans on behalf of the government.

The OECD believes that fees will somehow lead to an equitable education system! The government neglecting young people and under-funding primary, secondary and third level education is the real reason for inequality in the education system.

The FF-PD government try to claim that the abolition of student fees has led to a drop in university funding. In the last two years university budgets have been cut by 14%. There has been a jobs freeze in many colleges and a reduction in quality of services and facilities for students.

"Graduate taxes", student loans, or straightforward college fees must be opposed. Students should remain vigilant and be ready to mobilise in their tens of thousands if the government decides to try to implement any of these ideas.

Instead of trying to make students cough up more money for their education the government should introduce a living grant for third level students. Maybe then working class young people might get the chance to go to university.