平等报告警告英国年轻人处于“失落一代”中 [英国媒体]

Britain's youth at risk of being 'lost generation', warns equality report

平等报告警告英国年轻人处于“失落一代”的风险中



Equality and Human Rights Commission says under-34s have seen steepest drops in pay and employment in the past five years

平等及人权委员会称34岁以下人士过去5年来经历了工资和就业的最大下滑

【日期】2015年10月30日

Those aged 21-24 will not benefit from George Osborne’s ‘national living wage’. Photograph: Martin Godwin for the Guardian

21至24岁的年轻人无法享受乔治奥斯本的“最低国民工资”

Young people face the the worst economic prospects for several generations and their lives have got worse over the past five years, a comprehensive report has concluded.

一分综合报告显示，年轻人面临着几代以来最糟糕的经济环境，在过去的五年里他们的生活越发糟糕。

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) said that young people – defined as those under 34 – suffered the biggest slide in income and employment and now faced higher barriers to achieving economic independence and success than five years ago.

平等与人权委员会说，那些年轻人——该定义是指34岁以下的群体——在收入和就业方面遭受了巨大的压力，比起五年前，要想取得经济独立和成功要面对更大的障碍

The period during which their fate has worsened coincides with the election of the Conservative-led coalition government in 2010.

他们的境况在2010年保守党领导的联合政府参加选举时开始恶化

The commission, which has a mandate from parliament to tackle discrimination, said that although life had become fairer for many, progress had stalled or even worsened for some groups in society.

委员会的任务是通过议会解决歧视问题，并表示虽然生活中已经变得更加平等，但是部分群体已经停止进步甚至产生了倒退

The report, Is Britain Fairer?, showed that during the recession and up to 2013, people aged under 34 were hit by the steepest drops in pay and employment, had less access to decent housing and better paid jobs, and were experiencing deepening levels of poverty.

英国社会更公平么？报告表明，在经济衰退到2013年间，34以下的人群在薪水下降和就业方面遭受了打击，很少有人获得体面的住房和良好的工作报酬，并在遭受贫困加剧的问题。

The unemployment rate for 16- to 24-year-olds stood at 14.8% for the three months to August, according to official figures, with some 683,000 classed as unemployed. That rate was higher than the 13.8% recorded for the three months to February 2008 – before the financial downturn struck.

官方统计数据显示，到八月为止，16-24岁的年轻人失业三个月的占到14.8%，也就是说失业者多达 683,000人。在2008年2月——金融危机之前，该失业数据为13.8%，远低于这三个月的比例。

EHRC commissioner Laura Carstensen said that while barriers were being lowered in some sections of society, young people in particular were having to cope with far more difficult circumstances.

平等与人权委员会Laura Carstensen说虽然门槛不被社会上某些部门降低了，但是年轻人还是的面对越来越多的困境。

“Theirs are the shoulders on which the country will rely to provide for a rapidly ageing population, yet they have the worst economic prospects for several generations,” she said.

她说，“他们的肩膀上一面扛着老龄化人口带来的压力，一面得应对几代人以来最坏的经济前景。”

TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady said the government could no longer afford to ignore the plight of young people, who were struggling to cope with low levels of pay, worsening employment prospects and rising housing costs.

英国工会联盟秘书长Frances O’Grady说，政府不应该在无视年轻人的困境，他们疲于应对薪水走低，就业环境恶化以及住房持续上涨。

“This report should be wake-up call to ministers. Hiking up university and college fees and excluding young people from the new higher minimum wage rate is not the way to build a fair and prosperous Britain. It is the blueprint for a lost generation,” she said.

她说“这份报告应该让各位部长清醒一下了。一个公平繁荣的英国是不可能建立在高昂的大学学费以及新出台的排除年轻人的最低薪水之上的。这本该是为迷失的一代规划的蓝图”。

“Without better employment and training opportunities many young people will continue to be shut of the recovery.”

“没有好的就业和培训机会，更多的年轻人将无法重整旗鼓。”

George Osborne announced a “national living wage” in this July’s Budget of ￡7.20 an hour from next April, but only for workers aged 25 and above. Those aged 21 to 24 will continue to be paid the current national minimum wage of ￡6.70 an hour.

乔治奥斯本的“最低国民工资”在今年七月出台，奖最低时薪提到7.2磅，于明年4月开始实行，但只针对25岁及以上的工人。21到24的人群还继续实行最低时薪6.7磅。

Maria Miller, chair of the new Commons women and equalities select committee, said the government needed to tackle the inequalities highlighted in the report if it wanted Britain to become a fairer society.

Maria Miller,新妇女平等委员会主席表示，如果英国想要变成一个平等的国家就应该先解决报告中提到的不平等。

“The role of the new select committee is to scrutinise how effective the government really is on delivering its equality promises,” she said. “Many of the challenges highlighted in this report will form the subject of our inquiries.”

“新委员会的作用就是审核监督政府如何有效的实现平等的承诺，”她说，“报告中提出的很多问题将会成为我们调查的主题。”

The EHRC report also found that poverty now had a much bigger impact on the education of white Britons than it did for those from other ethnic groups. White boys from poor families were experiencing a combination of disadvantage, according to its research.

平等与人权委员会的报告还发现，贫困对于英国白人孩子的教育比其他族群产生了更大的影响。贫困家庭的白人男孩正经历一种不利的境况。   

People of Bangladeshi and Pakistani heritage recorded the biggest improvements in education and employment, while those of African and Carribean descent suffered some of the biggest falls in income. School pupils of Chinese and Indian heritage continue to perform better than other children, said the report.

报告显示，孟加拉和巴基斯坦的孩子在教育和就业上进步巨大，与此同时，非洲和加勒比血统的穷人孩子受影响退步巨大。中国和印度学龄孩子比起其他族裔的孩子继续表现优异。

The commission also examined attitudes toward racial diversity and sexual orientation.

委员会还审查了对种族多样性的看法和性取向。

While Britons have become more tolerant on both counts, it found that the UK had become less accepting of religious diversity, with an increase in antisemitic and Islamophobic hate crime.

研究发现，英国人在宽容度方面显示，英国已经不再支持宗教多样化，反犹太和反伊斯兰的仇恨犯罪增加。

Carstensen said that although the British people wanted a society where everyone was able to succeed regardless of their background, achievement often lagged some distance behind aspiration.

Carstensen 说，虽然英国人期望不论社会背景每个人都能成功，但愿望很丰满现实太骨感。

“While we have made important progress in many areas, the gateways to opportunity that the commission identified five years ago remain harder to pass through for some groups, such as disabled people, those from poorer backgrounds and women over a certain age,” she said.

她表示“虽然我们在不少区域已经有了重大进步，但是委员会在五年来仍然无法对一些群体提供更多的机遇，比如残疾人，来自贫困家庭的超龄妇女。”

The review, How Fair is Britain?, published in October 2010, found that while some inequalities remain entrenched, new challenges were emerging as the country’s population aged and became ethnically and religiously diverse.

评论文章英国社会公平么？在2010年十月发表，其指出一些不平等现象任然根深蒂固，并提出了新的挑战，人口老龄化和宗教种族多样化。

Trevor Phillips, then chair of the commission, said at the time there were still “gateways to opportunity that appear permanently closed, no matter how hard they try; while others seem to have been issued with an ‘access all areas’ pass at birth”.

Trevor Phillips，曾经的委员会主席，表示，当时认为“不论你怎么努力和尝试，机会的大门永远不会为你打开，剩下的那部分人觉得有只有好出身才无往不利”的观点现在依旧存在。