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"With the qualification I have you can’t go to an interim agency, so you have to rely on your own resources"

Lien Van der Meeren, 25 years, Belgium

"In 2004 I graduated as a pedagogical worker. When I finished school and started to search for a job, I realised that it isn’t because you have a qualification, that it’s easy to find a job. Though we have a good social protection system, you have to wait 9 months until you can get some support from the government.

"So first I had to do some other jobs which didn’t correspond to my qualification. Those were jobs I had to do if I wanted to earn some money and to get integrated in society. The major problem while searching for a job, is that the organisations expect you to have some experience. But if you don’t get the chance to start somewhere, you can’t get any experience.

"After some time I had the luck to find a job that matched my qualification, but still it was just to replace someone who was pregnant. It’s not easy to find a permanent job in the sector I graduated. After that I had again some jobs to fill the gap while I was searching for a job as a pedagogical worker. With the qualification I have you can’t go to an interim agency, they can’t help you there, so you have to rely on your own resources. Now I work for the YCW, so actually for the moment I can’t complain.

"We need a system that promotes solidarity"

Jack, 26 years, Belgium

"I have been living in Belgium for 18months and I work in a metal factory in Brussels, with a permanent full-time contract. I am originally from Peru and in Peru I worked in many different jobs. One was as a taxi driver for 2 and a half years, more or less 6 days a week, 15 hours per day. It was informal work, and every month for a different salary, sometimes 200 Euro per month, and at other times less. After that I had an experience of formal work in a hotel where I cleaned rooms for 6months, and worked driving taxis during the weekend. I left the work in the hotel to move to Europe.

"I came to Belgium to work and to study and to help my family because I had the chance to come here. I decided to come with the thought that the salary I could gain could help me support my family and help pay my studies.

"I searched for work for 6 months in Belgium. It was difficult, because I didn't speak the local language, but I searched through the interim agencies, personally visited workplaces to ask for work, and asked everyone I had met here to see if they could help me to find a job.

I come from Verviers and have been unemployed for 8 and a half months. I live with my parents, and I am registered with 15 interim agencies - some in Verviers and some in Liège. The agencies help match my qualifications with jobs that are available through a computer search, but usually I'm excluded because I don't have a car, or I don't have enough experience"

My parents receive a family payment for me since I am unemployed, and from them I receive around 75 Euros per month for my personal use.

"Lack of independence is difficult, and lack of income also limits my social life. I can meet my friends and talk with them, but nothing more. I can't afford to go out because it's too expensive."

8. März
Internationaler Frauentag
"Junge Arbeiterinnen fordern stärkere Einbindung in eine menschliche und gleichberechtigte Gesellschaft"

Seit mehr als 75 Jahre organisiert die Internationale Christliche Arbeiterjugend (ICAJ) junge Arbeiterinnen und bildet sie weiter. Für sie ist die Lage dieser jungen Frauen Schwerpunkt ihrer Aktion. Noch immer sind Frauen auf vielfältige Art und Weise Opfer der Ausgrenzung und der Marginalisierung in unserer Gesellschaft. „Wir werden zum einen als Frauen und zum anderen als Arbeiterinnen ausgegrenzt."

«Ich heiße Pattrisiya, bin 22 Jahre-alt und wohne in Rajagiriya, in der Nähe von Colombo, Sri Lanka. In unserer Kultur ist es sehr schwierig für eine jungen Frau Zugang zur Arbeitswelt zu bekommen, da unsere Mütter und Familien nicht wollen, dass wir einer Berufstätigkeit außerhalb des Hauses nachgehen. Daher fühle ich mich unwohl, denn ich kann meinen Fähigkeiten und Talenten keinen Ausdruck verleihen. Ich darf nicht studieren und nur die Arbeiten ausführen, die den Frauen gewöhnlich vorbehalten sind, wie Nähen, Kochen und andere Tätigkeiten, die die Männer nicht ausführen wollen. Weshalb ist das so? Wann wird sich das ändern?

Ich bin Nalini Peries, 21 Jahre alt und wohnhaft in Negombo, Sri Lanka. Ich habe zwei Schwestern. Unsere Mutter ist Hausfrau und unser Vater arbeitet in der Schattenwirtschaft. Ich habe schone einige Jobs gehabt, die zu den typischen Frauenberufe gehören, wie z.B. Nähen oder Sticken. Ich musste täglich 50 Stück herstellen und bekam dafür 2 Rs, das sind kaum 0,01 US$. Ich verdiente 100 Rs/Tag (0,50 US$) und arbeitete ohne sozialen oder rechtlichen Schutz.