"My brother joined the army less than 6 months ago. Not because he
wants to leave his partner and young baby to fight in a war, but
because he couldn’t find a job," says Sara Gibbons.

'Army recruitment has gone up by 17.5%. This isn’t because people
believe the endless MOD adverts telling us how you can join the armed
forces and see the world.  It’s a direct result of people not being
able to find real jobs,' explained Nahella Ashraf, chair of Manchester
Stop the War.

Nahella will be speaking about the need for 'Jobs Not Bombs' at a
national conference of 'Resistance and Solidarity' to be held in
Manchester on Saturday 30th January.

Trades unionists from Fujitsu in Manchester, will be joined by British
Airways Cabin crew,  Leeds bin workers, and postal workers. All have
been involved in recent strikes to save jobs.

"When he signed up he knew there was a possibility he could end up in
Afghanistan but he didn’t really want to think about it after all it’s
not mentioned in any of the recruitment literature. I wonder how many
more people like him have joined because they feel it’s the only
option open to them?" said Sara.

The 'Jobs not Bombs!' was a slogan popular at the time of Maggie
Thatcher and mass unemployment of the 1980's, it is back today in
2010.

'As people all over the country continue to worry about losing their
jobs and the effect of cuts our government continues to find endless
money for bankers and the illegal war in Afghanistan, it’s time the
government changed their priorities to reflect the majority of the
country that want and end to war.' says Nahella.

She will be speaking at the conference in Manchester organised by
Right To Work, a group which links together trades union struggle
across the country.

'The money being used to pay for this war should be used to create
real jobs in this country and stop people thinking the only option
open to themis to join the army.' says Nahella

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