They are workers; unemployed, retired, young and immigrants. They form part of the Italian Confederation of Workers' Trade Unions, and all of them met with the pope in Paul VI Audience Hall.
Pope Francis explained that though there is, and should be, more to a person than their work, work allows the human being to perform and flourish.
He said it is nonsense for the elderly to have to extend their work life when there are young people without jobs.
POPE FRANCIS
'It is a foolish and short-sighted society that makes the elderly continue to work for a long time, forcing a whole generation of young people to not work, when they should do it for themselves and everyone.â?
For this not to occur, the pope said a new social pact is necessary, one that reduces the working hours of the elderly and gives opportunities to young people.
He also called for unions to preserve their identity and not resemble, or assume the style, of political parties. He encouraged them to defend workers who cannot find jobs, or those with less rights, such as the youth, migrants and women. He especially focused on the labor inequality between women and men.
POPE FRANCIS
'This is one thing that I say a bit but still, in the work world, women are second class. You can tell me: 'No, but there is this businesswoman, this other one...' But women still earn less, are exploited more... Do something about it.â?
Finally, he reminded them that the priority of trade unions must be the peripheries, where they have to work to become so that the 'stones discarded from the economy' become their cornerstones.
AC/JC
CTV
-F
-BN
Up: JC
