SCOTLAND’S youth may face “socialism or extinction,” as the climate crisis takes hold attendees from the Morning Star’s autumn conference in Glasgow heard today. 

A packed STUC headquarters hosted the meeting, exploring issues particularly experienced by young people.

The first session’s focus was on education and apprenticeships, and comrades listened to contributions from those in struggle in these sectors.

Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) activist Thora Hands spoke about the unrelenting attacks on colleges currently under way, as a third of teaching staff at City of Glasgow College facing compulsory redundancy.

Nick Troy, an activist with Unite Hospitality, told the meeting of his experiences in the sector and at the 13th Note dispute, where he and his fellow workers organised the first strike in Glasgow hospitality in more than 20 years.

Activists plan to take on ownership of the venue themselves.

Tam Wilson, of the Better than Zero campaign, told of the challenges in organising to beat zero-hours contracts in sectors that often see high staff turnover and workers facing the threat of shifts being withdrawn if they take on the practice.

Sarah Bisset of Living Rent asked the meeting who rented and who owned their homes, pointing out the age disparity evident, and arguing that young people were being attacked by rocketing rents and being “locked out of any asset ownership” by stagnating wages and an average Scottish house price over £250,000. 

In the final session on just transition and ownership, the conference heard from socialist MSP Mercedes Villalba, who attacked the hoarding of the Scottish countryside to be used as a “billionaires’ playground” and urged support for her land justice campaign.

The campaign aims to limit land ownership to 500 hectares without meeting a public interest test.

On ownership, the STUC’s Ryan Morrison spoke of the Scottish government’s ScotWind giveaway of offshore wind to multinational capital and big oil, arguing that a just transition could not be delivered on that basis.

Vijay Prashad, of the Tricontinental Institute for Social Research, said that there could be no just transition until imperialist powers “take responsibility” for past actions.

He challenged the concept of “net zero” as a means by which “liberal imperialists offload responsibility to the rest of the world,” adding: “People are getting angry at [Prime Minister Rishi] Sunak dropping pledges that were never being met anyway.

“It’s a farce. People want to impose on developing countries net zero, but I don’t see the same imperative for net zero poverty!”