Stephen Farry, the local Minister for Employment and Learning, has announced a ‘review’ of EMA and it’s obvious he’s going to slash it, just as the ConDem government have in England. The small amount we get from EMA makes a real difference to many students. It helps with basic costs like transport and buying essentials for our courses.
Our future is on the line!
The threat to EMA is part of a general assault on education. Courses are being cut across the board, denying people a chance to study their chosen subject. Jobs are being slashed in schools and techs, meaning that we get a poorer quality of education. The same is true across the public services we rely on – from health to sports facilities – decreasing our quality of life and destroying jobs when unemployment is already at 13.5%!
This isn’t our crisis! Make the bankers and rich pay!
All this is happening because the politicians in Westminster and Stormont want workers and young people to pay the bill for the failed bets that super-rich bankers and speculators made in the casino called the stock market. They tell us there is no money for public services, but these same bankers ‘earned’ £7 billion last year in bonuses alone!
Unite with workers! Mass action can win!
But we can fight back! Stephen Farry publicly called for tuition fees to increase and, in reality, all the main parties in the Assembly would have supported this move. It was militant struggle by school students, as we saw here and in Britain in December last year, which made them think twice.
The trade unions – which organise workers to fight for their rights – have called a strike here and in Britain on November 30th. Millions of people will not go to work and attend protests instead. If school students link up with workers on strike, this would leave the politicians trembling. It could be the start of a real fightback to defend our education, our communities and our future.
Join the fightback! Join Socialist Youth!
Socialist Youth is organised by and young people to fight for our rights. We are anti-sectarian and anti-capitalist. We are opposed to the global capitalist system, where a tiny, super-rich elite control our world while the majority struggle to get by. We stand for a socialist world, where the huge wealth that exists is owned by everyone and used in a planned way to provide a decent life for everyone and protect our environment. If you agree, join us today!
