European socialists in show of support for Labour youth guarantee

The Party of European Socialists issued a note of support for the Labour party's 'youth guarantee' in response to criticism of Joseph Muscat's pledge to see all early-school leavers stay in education, or move on to training and gainful employment.

Labour's youth guarantee is part of a pan-European pledge to tackle youth unemployment, although the specifics of its implementation vary across several countries.

"There is a very strong response to the real concerns of people across Europe. The cooperation between our member parties stands in stark contrast to the disarray among EPP parties like the Nationalist Party," the PES said in a statement issued by the Labour party.

"François Hollande (France) and Sigmar Gabriel (Germany), as well as other leaders, have pledged to push for a European-wide guarantee for young people. They, and other PES member party leaders, have made calls for a youth guarantee as a major part of their preparation for the EU summit," the PES said of the summit being held today.

"The irony is that the Maltese government is criticizing the Labour Party for promoting growth policies just at the time when there is, simultaneously, finally European-wide recognition that the one-dimensional austerity policies of European conservatives have been a disaster for Europe," the PES said.

Gonzi has mocked Muscat for being "unoriginal" by "copying" the policy plank of the Party of European Socialists.

Muscat dispelled criticism that he would "force" youths into government labour corps, as Gonzi surmised on Sunday in a reference to the Labour government programmes of the 1980s with the aim of achieving full employment.

"While we would target persons over 16 who would neither be in education, training or employment for over six months, the programme would be voluntarily and not forced on them.

"We are not reinventing the wheel: this is a programme inspired by best practices utilised abroad in countries like Austria and Finland," Muscat said.

Labour does not have figures costing the youth guarantee pledge, but Muscat has said the cost of not carrying out the initiative would be higher than implementing it.

The same proposal has been proposed by UK Labour leader Ed Miliband, whose 'real jobs guarantee' would offer six months' work to those aged 18 to 24 who have been jobless for a year, tagged at a cost of £600 million.

"It all depends on how many people undertake the programme," Muscat said. "But ours is different from Miliband's in the sense that we are not guaranteeing jobs but guaranteeing training and education which in turn would lead to jobs," Muscat said.

He added that a Labour government would make a concerted effort to reach out to young people who, after leaving school, were not listed in employment registers. "The idea is not only to encourage them to pursue a career but also look in what has halted their studies in the first place and see if there are any social problems that need to be addressed."