The paper reviews research on and examples of newly founded, youth-led social movementorganisations (SMOs) working to improve employment conditions for young people. The paper aims to provide a framework for studying the targeted SMOs across countries and against the backdrop of typologies of youth transition systems and industrial relations systems. Three subgroups of organisations are considered: a) youth organisations of or attached to trade unions, b) organisations campaigning against precarious employment and c) organisations aimed at improving working conditions during the early career years for people in (semi-)professional groups. Detailed discussions of SMOs include nine examples of SMOs from Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia and the United Kingdom. The literature and examples revealed that recently founded, youth-led SMOs develop approaches to public issues, including their specific focus on areas of political contestation, that quickly diffuse across national borders; mobilisation in other locations inspired many local initiatives. Beyond individual learning by participation, recently founded youth-led SMOs should be regarded as laboratories producing qualitative knowledge and practical skills. By challenging established organisations, including trade unions, these organisations expand possibilities for renewing and enlivening structures of interest representation and strategy within industrial relations.
Horizon 2020 - ENLIVEN 