Global Courant 2023-04-30 22:33:20
By Most Rev Emmanuel Adetoyese Badejo: Bishop, Catholic Diocese of Oyo (www.CatholicBisdomOyo.org)
Labor Day, held every May 1 around the world, calls for an evaluation of work, workers and working conditions around the world. This is because work is an indispensable resource with which God made man and with which man sustains the world. We are told that after all the work, God saw that what he had done was right. For this reason, we know that there is dignity in work and work is really love made visible. So it is appropriate on this day to congratulate employees to congratulate anyone who does work and to do the same to anyone who provides a conducive environment for work to be done. As important and fundamental as work is, there are too many factors that deprive millions of workers of the joy and satisfaction they should derive from the work they do. Unfortunately, today conflict, discrimination, unjust structures, scarcity of jobs, poor management and greed hinder the integral human development that work should bring to individuals, families and society. This is unfortunate to say the least and deserves urgent attention.
Integral human development, the ideal of all humanity, will remain a mirage if controversial issues related to work are not resolved. The Catholic Church teaches that just wages are a legitimate fruit of labor. It may be gravely unfair to withhold or refuse it. “Remuneration for work should enable man to provide for himself and his family in a dignified way materially, socially and culturally…”.
Governments and peoples cannot earnestly desire peace or authentic development without ensuring fair wages for work done. Exploitation of others or their resources, the imposition of raw material prices, inhospitable working conditions, the wrongful taking over of others’ property, or the like, violate human dignity, damage social trust, and offend the moral law of God. Conversely, employees must also work on a personal level for the wages they receive in order to fulfill the social contract and not be guilty of dishonesty and theft.
The Catholic Church has always taught that work implies dignity and that work is a vocation with a spiritual dimension. Every worker participates in some way in the divine project to further the work of creation. According to Pope Francis, May 1 every year, the Feast of Saint Joseph the Worker, is the day the Church commemorates the world of work. On that day, the Church demands “that work everywhere and for all be dignified”, and that the work of men and women everywhere “inspire the will to develop an economy of peace everywhere in the world”. The Church also prays for all those who have lost lives, limbs and property in the course of their work, especially victims of corrupt and unjust systems, that their sacrifice may not pass in vain.
In Nigeria, the condition of most workers remains dire. The government’s insensitivity to the plight and demands of workers such as doctors, nurses, teachers, journalists and security forces is nothing short of brutal, especially when compared to politicians’ pay. This unfortunately affects the entire masses who depend on the services these workers provide. In fact, working conditions in both the public and private sectors are in desperate need of a thorough and urgent overhaul. Nigeria needs a moral blood transfusion, so to speak. Nevertheless, with the forthcoming dispensation, employers and employees must embrace a new “regime of merit” and rebuild the crumbling labor fortress. Only a just relationship, driven by dialogue and sensitivity, can guarantee an escape from the quagmire of resentment and suspicion that currently characterizes the relationship between workers and employers in the country. With that new hope, it is relevant even today to say to everyone: Happy Labor Day with hope for a brighter future!
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of the Catholic Diocese of Oyo, Nigeria.
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