juntos en accion - together in action - agir ensemble

Diego Ruano Vicente, 22 years, Salamanca, Spain Work: Teleoperator Conditions at work: Full time. Service contract. 

Diego, Spain

What is your dream for young workers in your country?

A decent job, with a decent salary, equality among all, and all casual contracts should be done away with once and for all. Training periods should be paid and each one should have social security. A lot of workers are not protected.

Why is this dream important for you?

Because we have the same right to a stable job that gives us a future, with a salary which is enough to pay a mortgage, food, etc., and which allows us to make ends meet.

My name is Sandra and I come from Munich in Germany. I am 25 years old. Now I am a student, studying European Studies at the Catholic University of Eichstätt (between Munich and Nuremberg). My studies concentrate on the cultural aspects of Europe. I’m studying literature, linguistics as well as history, archeology and politics. It is a mixture of topics to have a better understanding of European culture. I’ve always been interested in foreign countries and their culture and that’s why I have chosen this type of study. I’ve already achieved the bachelor’s degree and I’m doing my masters now.

Before becoming a student, I was doing an apprenticeship for 2 years in a travel agency. It was a 2 year diploma to achieve this apprenticeship, and it was the idea of my dad to do this before starting to study. Today I’m very happy that I did this apprenticeship because now I know that I would like to work in the field of tourism, and the diploma gives me a sort of qualification that says I’ve learned a certain profession where I can find a job after my studies. In Germany an apprenticeship consist of two parts: I had to work in the travel agency and I had to go to a certain type of school which is specialised on the job I did. I liked my job very much as well as I liked people there, but when there was no possibility to continue my job due to financial reasons in the company, I took up the opportunity to study.

My name is Nelson. I am 16 and I have been working at the town market in San Felix, Bolivar State, Venezuela, for four years. I live in a very poor neighborhood in San Felix with my mother and my siblings. I work every day from 5 am till midday, without a break. I earn around 35,000 bolivars per day ($16.2), which does not allow me to study, save money, or buy medicines when I get sick. What I earn is just enough for transport, and to help pay the food at home and buy some personal things. At the market we are mistreated by the police, the customers and the managers. They do not value our work and we have no benefits as workers since we are self-employed. We have no place to rest, to go to the toilet, or to take clean water. This is very disheartening.
My dream is that our work is valued by everyone at the market because we are the ones who carry the goods. I dream that we have a canteen where we can eat, rest, and have clean water, medicines if we get sick, and an organization to know our rights and defend them. We are already making progress in this respect thanks to our YCW friends (Wilmer, Marcos, Yarlin, and others) because we have meetings to discuss our problems and possible solutions. They have given us t-shirts, we have shared meals together, we are taking a computer course at the YCW Youth Action Support Office, and we are preparing some workshops on values and on health and safety at work. In this way, things are improving and we will continue our struggle as carters.

Ricky, 27 years, Philippines
I am Ricky Ruales, 27 years of age, single and a native of Labo Camarines Norte. I was a factory worker in the past, working for Sackline Industries Incorporated, but now I am a pedicab driver in Lawang Bato Valenzuela City and at the same time a member of Lawang Bato Mulawinan Ulingan Pedicab & Drivers Association (LMUPODA) Inc. This is a legitimate association registered to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). I am two years now in my work as Pedicab driver and I can say it is really hard and difficult. I start working at 5:30 in the morning and finish at 10:00 in the night. My work is very tiring due to long hours of work and my energy is very much exhausted. Because of this, I have no time with my family and for myself.
What saddens me most is that we have no protection in our work. I am a shy type of person but when YCW involved me in their group and action/activities, it started to change me. Since then I have developed a good relationship with my co-pedicab drivers. Through the formation and training I have attended in the YCW, I am able to understand the basic workers rights and also to the rights of us as informal workers. I am motivated to join in the mass action and many other activities of YCW. With the help and guidance of YCW we have registered our Pedicab Association to the SEC and then slowly this is being recognized in Barangay. I am now the coordinator of the YCW group of Pedicab drivers and one of my responsibilities that the movement entrusted to me is to build up new contacts. Because of the continuous follow-up of YCW, I started to dream like I had not before. I dream of someday, together with the forces of the Pedicab drivers and with other Informal sector… to have Social Protection (protection at work, protection of income, protection in social services such as free access to health and medication, education and housing) and enough programs to alleviate our poverty by easy access to lending with low interest.