Code Number: TH221E

Course Title: “TRANSFORMING THE WORLD TOWARDS THE REIGN

OF GOD WITH ST. VINCENT DE PAUL”

CHAPTER I: LABOR IN THE CONTEXTOF GLOBALIZATION IN

SOLIDARITY WITH THE WORLD: THE SEARCH FOR JUSTICE AND
PEACE

Intended Learning Outcome: Design a project proposal that shows an understanding of workers plight or
concerns and is responsive to their needs and problems.

INTRODUCTION (RECAP of previous topic)

1. In the previous topic we saw how Society is challenged by different social concerns affecting
society as a whole and the individual in particular.

2. One of these social concerns is Labor and how it is affected by such phenomenon as
Globalization.

3. This topic will deal with Labor and how it is affected by Globalization particularly in the issue
of Justice and Peace.

I. SEE:

Picture- Analysis.

1. Students will be shown four pictures of workers. The pictures will be displayed on the board:
Factory worker, Construction worker, Plantation worker, Domestic work/ Hairdresser.

2. Ask them if their parents do the same kind of work, or if they know of people who perform
such work.

3. Let them classify each job as laborer or non-laborer. Ask for their reason for their
classification.

4. Write their answers on the board or Manila paper.

II. DISCERN: (Interactive Class Discussion)

■ Our God in the Bible is the GOD WHO WORKS—create, cultivate, breathes life to creation etc.

■ God’s co-workers and co-creators—proclaiming God’s image and likeness in us

■ However, human work become ambivalent—enslaved, estranged people, instead of life’s
fulfillment.

■ Traditional Image of Laborer

■ Limited to those who go to shop or factory in a daily basis with number of hours, and
receive regular pay and other benefits.

■ How about those;

1. buy and sell empty bottles,
2. sell fishes, vegetables, meat etc.,
3. who work outside of the industrial environment?
A. Labor.

Any human exertion of either physical or mental ability is considered labor. Any person who
exerts this human power is considered a worker.

■ Anything that contributes in whatever manner to the sustenance and development of people in the
society is considered work.

■ Person who exerts this human power is considered a worker.—he/she contributes to the
development of the world

B. What is the situation of workers today?

• Unemployment

– John Maynard Keynes – it is the responsibility of the government to create job

opportunities for its labor force.
■ 3 sectors of unemployment
– Who voluntarily left their old jobs (9.6%)
– Lost jobs due to economic circumstances beyond their control (8%)
– Seeking jobs for the first time (3.6%)
■ Resulted to Labor Migration in atleast 182 countries.
– High number of women migrant workers—abuse and violence
■ Proof of the inability of the government to create gainful and satisfactory
employment environment with its citizens.

■ Low and unjust Wages

– Salary do not commensurate with required job output—not sufficient for a family with 4-
6 members to live a decent life.

■ Child Labor (14 and below)

– NSO revealed that 5.5 million child laborers (majority in high-risk job)
■ Contractualization or “endo”

– Practice of short-term contracts—5-6 months contract to avoid legal requirements of

employing worker.

■ Company not obliged to provide allowances, and other benefits with no tenure
assurance---practically workers have no future; they can be remove anytime.

C. What do you think are root cause of these situations of the workers?

a. Capitalist Greed

b. Unjust Social Structures.

c. Laziness

d. Lack of Education

e. wrong or mismatch education

f. Corrupt govt. Officials

g. etc.

D. Roots of Oppression and Abuse

1. The existence of Private Property

Tangible and intangible things owned by individuals or firms over which their
owners have exclusive and absolute legal rights, such as land, buildings, money,
copyrights, patents, etc

a. Karl Marx (Communism)

– opt for the abolition of private property

- Private property results to the alienation of the worker from the fruit of
his labor

b. Leo XIII

- recognizes the right to private property but asserts that private

property should serve the Common Good.

– “Every person should not consider his material possession as his own,
but as common to all so as to share them without hesitation when
others are in need.” (RN # 22)

2. Globalization

- The world has become one big global village.

 - With Globalization, the labor situation has become drastically different,

-Any investor can put up a company anywhere in the world; consequently,

investor will go to countries where labor is cheap.

– Critics say that Globalization only advances the interests of big corporation and
rich industrialized nations.

- Free trade is more favourable to corporations with big capital.

3. Contractualization or “endo”

- The practice of hiring workers for short-term contracts and without the
traditional employer-employee relationship and benefits.

- The company is not obliged to provide allowances and benefits; no assurance of

tenure, wages are lower.

- Practically workers have no future; they can be remove anytime.

E. What do you think are the other consequences and effect of this situation?

Possible answers: no housing, no education for children, no stability, no medical care,

further poverty, etc.

F. THE TEACHING OF THE CHURCH ON LABOR AND HUMAN DIGNITY

1. Rerum Novarum, (RN1891) Pope Leo XIII.

a. Focus on concerns about capital and labor.

b. RN, 20

...To misuse men (and women) as though they were things in the pursuit of gain,
or to value them solely for their physical powers- that is truly shameful and
inhuman.

… The employer must never tax his/her work people beyond their strength, or
employ them in work unsuited to their age and sex.

… To exercise pressure upon the indigent and the destitute for the sake of gain,
and to gather ones profit out of the need of another, is condemned by all laws,
human and divine.

…To defraud any one of wages that are his/her due is a great crime which cries
to the avenging anger of Heaven.
2. Laborem Exercens (L E), 1981, by Pope John Paul II (LE, 4-6)

a. The Dignity of Work (LE, 4-6)

i. Labor is more than just a commodity

ii. Labor is participation in the creative work of God

iii. Jesus sanctified human labor and endowed it with a special significance for
our development (LS, 98)

b. The Social Dimension of Work

i. Work is with others and for others. (CSDC, 272)

ii. Capital remains unproductive without labor. Labor won’t be needed if there
is no capital invested. (RN, 19)

iii. The welfare of workers must take precedence over capital because human
beings are more valuable than things. (LE, 12)

c. The Right to Rest

i. Rest from work is a right. (LE, 19) (CA, 9)

ii. Contemplative rest is essential to the meaning of work. (LS, 237)

Iii. Humans have the right to sufficient rest to have time for their family,
participate in the cultural, social and religious life. (GS, 67)

d. The Worker as the Image of God

i. Through work people are able to practice their spirituality and to

continuously develop and improve the world.

ii.“It is through free, creative, participatory and mutually supportive labor that
human beings express and enhance the dignity of their lives.” (EG, 192)

iii. “Through dignified labor, the human being also lives in harmony with the
whole of God’s creation.(LS, 98).

e. Work and the Right of Workers to Participate in the Fruits of their Work

i. Workers desire not only wages but also want to see the result of their
collective creation and its recognized value.

ii. “The social dimension of work finds concrete realization when workers
participate in ownership, management and profits. (CSDC, 281)
 iii On the basis of his/her work, each person is fully entitled to consider
himself/herself a part-owner of the great workbench where he/she is
working with everyone else. (LE, 14)

3. The Right to Work

a. The Necessity of Work

i. Work is something necessary to support one’s family; so that the worker can
own private property; and support the wellbeing of all.

“The church teaches the value of work not only because it is something that
belongs to the person but also because of its nature as something
necessary”.(CSDC, 287)

“Developing the created world in a prudent way is the best way of caring for
it. (LS, 124

ii. It is the responsibility and duty of the State and its leaders to create
conditions which stimulates the creation of employment opportunities for
all.

“Government must ensure each family has the means of subsistence so that it
can live and prosper. (RN, 35)

4. The Rights of Women, Migrants and Others

a. There is a need to recognize the rights of women workers.

“The feminine genius is needed in all expressions in the life of society;

therefore the presence of women in the workplace is guaranteed always
by recognizing their dignity and vocation as women.” (CSDC, 295)

“There is a need to recognize the rights of women particularly in the

aspect of wages, insurance and social security.”( (Familiaris Consortio,
24)

b. The intolerable forms of child labor is a moral problem and an act of violence
against the youth.

“The Youth should not be working until their physical and mental
abilities have fully developed.” (RN, 129)

“The church is always wary of the exploitation of children working in

conditions of veritable slavery.”(CSDC, 296)

c. There is a need to ensure that workers abroad are not abused; and the same
rights be accorded to people with disabilities as other regular workers. (LE,
22)
 d. Host countries should be enact laws to prevent the exploitation of migrant
workers and prevent discrimination or exclusion, and enjoy equal treatment
with other nationals.

“They should be received as persons and helped, together with their

families , to become part of societal life.” (CSDC, 297-8)

5. The Rights of Workers

a. Provision of Jobs

i. Society should provide appropriate jobs for all

ii.“Jobs for all may be achieved if there is planning and networking of all
direct and indirect employers and continuing education.” (LE, 17-18)

b. Adequate Wages and Benefits

i. “The worker must be paid a wage sufficient to support hi/her and

his/her family.”(QA, 71)

ii. “The family wage should be such that person and his/her family may
be able to properly develop and enjoy the fruits of their labor materially,
socially, culturally and spiritually.”(GS, 67)

iii. Wages and benefits should be enough to support the whole family.

iv. Benefits such as health and accident insurance, pensions, rest on

Saturdays and Sunday, and vacations should also be provided to workers.

c. Healthy Working Environment

i. A safe and inspiring workplace, which is comfortable and not harmful

to workers’ physical health and moral integrity, must be provided.
(CSDC, 301)

ii. The workplace should provide the condition for workers to further
develop their abilities as persons with dignity.

d. The Right to Form Unions and Workers’ Organizations

i. It is important that workers are able to organize and form associations

and Groups.
 ii. “The magisterium recognizes the fundamental role played by labor
unions whose existence is...to defend the vital interest of workers
employed in various professions.” (CSDC, 305)

iii. The union must make its struggle positive with a social justice
orientation instead of a struggle against an enemy.

iv. Unions have a right to strike when it cannot be avoided, or at least

when it is necessary to obtain a proportional benefit.(CCC, 2435)

v. The church recognizes the right to strike as legitimate and justified

when it is the last option after all avenues have been explored. (LE,
20)

vi. Strikes should be based on proper and reasonable conditions,

exercised in a peaceful manner and done in accordance with law.

vii. Negotiation/conciliation is still the first and preferred option.

III. ACT: (Design a plan of action/ project proposal to respond to the needs/ problems or issues
discovered)

A. Divide the class into groups of 8 members each. Make them choose a particular labor sector or
group they are interested in. (Farmers, fisher folks, factory workers, street sweepers,
construction workers, janitors, maintenance people, etc.) There should be no duplication of
group sector.

B. Tell the group to look for a particular sector they can partner with at least for this semester.

C. Interview or conduct a survey to find out their problems.

D. Make a summary/ report of your findings. (3-4 pages)

1. Background of the group

2. Issues and problems discovered

3. Suggested response or courses of action to address the problems.