Labor, church leaders to gather in Cebu for workers' conference

Labor and church leaders will meet in Cebu City from September 12 to 15 for a national conference on the welfare of workers. Militant migrant workers' group Migrante chairman Garry Martinez said the "Church People-Workers’ Solidarity (CWS)" conference is timely amid “worsening conditions of the Filipino workers." He said globalization policies such as flexibilization of labor, outsourcing and the labor export policy, have widened the gap between the rich and poor. “The government has pegged wages at very minimal rate, causing hunger and deepened the misery of the marginalized sectors," he added. "CWS convenors include labor leaders, faith leaders such as Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma, Jaro Auxiliary Bishop Gerardo Alminaza, Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo and ecumenical leaders such as Iglesia Filipina Independiente Supreme Bishop Ephraim Fajutagana," the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines said in an article on its news site. September's conference is also in celebration of the 30th anniversary of Blessed John Paul II’s encyclical Laborem Exercens (Oh Human Work). John Paul II's document, published on September 14, 1981, declared the Church's commitment to be in solidarity with the workers, to become truly a church of the poor. It also affirms the dignity of work, the priority of labor over capital, and the promotion of workers’ rights over profit. “God’s supreme commandment is to love God and our neighbor. Thus, uniting with our marginalized brothers and sisters is a Gospel imperative," Alminaza said. - VVP, GMA News