‘MANCHESTER University Students Union (SU) supports the march because we support the fight for better opportunities for today’s youth,’ said Charlie Cook, the SU General Secretary yesterday morning.
She was talking to News Line on Day 17 of the YS London to Liverpool March for Jobs.
The YS marchers shouted: ‘What Do We Want? Free Education! When Do We Want It? Now!’ and ‘We Won’t Pay Tuition Fees! – Education Must Be Free!’ as they approached the Students Union building.
Charlie continued: ‘The government continues to do little to address the need for employment and in an environment that could easily lead people to despair, this march is a demonstration of resilience and commitment to demanding more than what is on offer, because we refuse to be cheated out of our futures.’
Joel Smith, Activities and Development Officer at the SU, said: ‘What the Young Socialists are doing is raising awareness of the greatest issues of our time, which is the government’s austerity programme.
‘Just from personal experience, a lot of my friends are finding it hard to get jobs. They can’t get the jobs they want in Manchester, so many of them are moving to London.
‘The National Union of Students (NUS) has now moved resolutions to support a boycott of companies which invest in Israel, they also moved resolutions for free education. There is a national demonstration for free education on 19th November.
‘Their agenda in the NUS is drifting slowly to the left, however, there are still certain individuals within the top leadership of the NUS, as is the case within the top layers of the TUC, who are compromising on issues at the expense of their own beliefs, which can be counter-productive.’
Earlier yesterday morning the marchers bid farewell to the BFAWU bakers union office where they had spent two nights of warm hospitality, enjoying a final big meal of pizzas sent by the CWU North-West Region.
John Stott, an admin worker at the BFAWU, said: ‘Last year at the TUC we put a motion forward against zero-hours contracts and to support Hovis workers that were on strike at the time.
‘That morning Frances O’Grady (TUC leader) had been on BBC Breakfast talking about how rotten zero-hours contracts are and how they have to be debated and acted on. But when it came to the conference, they refused to hear our resolution, they said it wasn’t a national issue.
‘In the end it took the general secretaries of our union and the RMT to pile pressure on for it to be heard. That’s why I say, of course the Young Socialists should be heard at the TUC conference. You can’t say you’re against youth unemployment and then not hear what the youth have to say.’
The day before yesterday, on Day 16, the marchers campaigned in Moss Side where they met young people who joined the YS and want to join in this Sunday’s lobby of the TUC in Liverpool to demand a General Strike.
Rachelle Young said: ‘I helped campaign during the General Election for the Workers Revolutionary Party in Moss Side. Now I want to help for this march because I want to get rid of David Cameron, get jobs for young people and stop all the fees for universities. Just because I’m a young mum they won’t give me the chance to better myself.’
The YS marchers revisited the occupy tent for Palestine on King Street, opposite a shop selling products whose revenue goes to Israel.
Tammy Samede said: ‘We are sleeping out in solidarity with and to raise awareness of the thousands and thousands of people who are now homeless in Gaza because the Israelis have bombed their homes. The police have limited us to ten protesters at a time who can be here, so we have a rota.’