Unions join forces to call for youth worker pay rise

The Community and Youth Workers' section of Unite has joined with other unions, including Unison and the National Union of Teachers, to call for a pay rise for youth workers from September 2009.

The group has made a submission to the Joint Negotiating Committee, which agrees rates of pay for youth and community workers.

The submission states: "The recession is universally recognised as having a disproportionately bad effect on young people.

"The indispensable role of youth workers in working with such marginalised young people is greatly needed, if the effects of the recession are to be reduced rather than worsened."

The unions said the starting pay for a graduate youth and community worker is around £7,000 less than the average graduate starting salary of £27,000 a year.

Doug Nicholls, national secretary of the Community and Youth Workers section of Unite, said: "Young people are experiencing disproportionately difficult times as they seek work for the first time, as the country is buffeted by the worst recession since the 1930s.

"To alleviate the problems they face, more investment in youth and community workers is needed. To attract and retain staff in the profession, you need a substantial pay rise."