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The “dignity of work” or “decent work” in the context of a values-based response to globalization was at the core of a recent international inter-religious seminar hosted by the Geneva-based World Council of Churches (WCC).
The event, held 27-29 April at the Ecumenical Centre, was organized by the International Labour Organization (ILO) in partnership with the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO), the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, the WCC and Globethics.net.
The participants at the seminar identified convergences between religious traditions (Christians, Muslims, Jews and Buddhists) and the ILO agenda to guarantee decent work for all.
Working toward a goal of preserving human dignity, eradicating poverty and promoting peace and social justice the seminar aimed at examining spiritual teachings and doctrines in order to develop ethics and convergences with decent work.
Pierre Martinot-Lagarde, a Jesuit priest and special advisor for socio-religious affairs in the department of Partnerships and Development Cooperation at the ILO positioned the role of the seminar within wider global interreligious dialogue when he quoted the 1944 Philadelphia Declaration which stated “universal and lasting peace can be established only if it is based upon social justice”.
“All human beings, irrespective of race, creed or sex, have the right to pursue both their material well-being and their spiritual development in conditions of freedom and dignity, of economic security and equal opportunity,” he said quoting the declaration.
The meaning of work
The meaning of work from the perspective of each religious tradition, examining rights-based approaches to work, as well as notions of duty, ethics and commitment to social justice were all part of the discussions.
The group considered social protection and solidarity, child labour, youth employment, labour standards and dignity, each focusing on how these are addressed in different religious traditions as important themes for the work of the ILO.
Welcoming the participants on behalf of the WCC, the Rev. Dr Hielke Wolters, acting associate general secretary for programmes, emphasized that “only work that responds to the wider framework of existence and expresses responsibility for that contributes to the meaning of life.”
The practical, moral and spiritual significance of work in all our lives highlight the need for an interreligious approach “to help us deepen our understanding ... but above all to help peoples around the world improve the content, conditions and contracts related to their work,” Wolters said.
Examples from the social doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church on issues of employment and work were provided by Flaminia Giovanelli, the under-secretary of the (Roman Catholic) Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace.
“Human beings are created in the image of God ... God’s project is that the fruits of the earth be shared with the whole of humanity, not just a small part,” Giovanelli said. “Participation in the dignity of work, or in ‘decent work’, can help people follow God’s example in creation.”
Describing Islamic legal understandings of work as being inseparable in its religious and spiritual meaning, Dr Abdelilah Benarafa of ISESCO noted how the term “work” in Arabic was generally indistinguishable from the term “action”.
“Faced with the issue of work,” Benarafa said, “there is a temptation to privilege the economic and social dimension to the detriment of the ethical and spiritual aspects of work which can determine human relations with the world and allow for understanding the universal ethic of each spiritual tradition.”
The key to developing an ethics of decent work is “to value responsibility” said the Rev. Dr Christoph Stückelberger, executive director of Gloebthics.net. “Work can be worship or destruction, blessing or curse”.
Drawing attention to the link between power and responsibility in the working arena Stückelberger said “the more power one has the greater the responsibility is.”
Presentations made by Christians, Muslims, Buddhists and Jews at the seminar will be made available on the Globethics.net platform where discussions will continue.
The seminar is the first in a series on inter-religious perspectives on decent work which the ILO is to organize in different regions of the world.
