MISSION IS FUN

RIDING AT THE AGE OF 70

BY FR LUIS ALBUQUERQUE MCCJ

THE PARISH of Yanahuanca in the mountains of central Peru had several communities. The missionary had to go to one of them to celebrate the feast of the patron saint. He took with him a Monfortian Sister and a young girl.

When they arrived at the place where the road ended, they saw a man with two horses. They tried to go by car through the mountains, guided by the illustrious horseman, but it was difficult for the car. So, they decided to go on foot, because the priest had never ridden a horse. After a while, he encouraged himself to ride on the animal and he felt comfortable. They were able to reach the place for the feast. When they arrived they were surprised to see that there were two chapels next to each other, one for the Catholic Church and the other, for another church.

They also noticed that the beer had arrived at that place. Everything went smoothly and after praying and singing, strengthened by a good lunch, they returned in the same way. The priest was already a master at riding, but at a certain point, he felt sorry for the Sister, who was already 70 years old and tried to give her his horse, so that he could go on foot. At first, he didn’t manage to convince her because she had never ridden a horse before but finally, she agreed. Riding was easy for her and she was giving glory to God saying that it was necessary to reach that age for the chance to use such an animal for transport. Everything was going well, but then the priest invited the Sister to share the horse with the young girl so that she could also take a rest from walking.

“Now that I was doing so well and enjoying it, why should I ever dismount? Oh well!

They arrived at the car and descended from 4 000 m to 3 000 m where the parish was.

THE LAST WORD

ARE YOU ANGRY BECAUSE I AM GOOD? (MT 20: 1–16)

BY FR SILVANO FAUSTI SJ | BIBLIST AND WRITER

THE PARABLE of the Workers in the Vineyard contradicts, at its root, the logic of possession and claim; none can demand what is, instead, a pure gift of grace.

Those regarded as ‘first called’, both in Israel and in the Church, behave like Jonah: they are enraged to see that God is ‘merciful, forgiving, long-suffering, and of great love’ (Jonah 4: 2). They are attached to their spiritual goods, like the rich young man to his material ones. They are like the elder brother, who is angry to see that his father is good to his younger brother (Lk 15: 28). In this parable, those ‘first called’ even risk rejecting the Lord, because He is
magnanimous towards the last.

This parable is a gospel ‘in a nutshell’, similar to Lk 15: 1ff. It goes contrary to the ethics of capitalism, whether material or spiritual. It is not against the law or justice—the labourers of the first hour are given what is right—but it emphasises grace. God’s law and justice are that of love and liberality; His reward exceeds all merit: it is a reward, given out of mercy to all. For all, salvation is the free love of the Father. One cannot steal it by cunning or earn it by sweat: it is grace.

Eternal life, which the rich young man wants to have (Mt 19: 16), can be obtained not by doing something more, but by leaving everything. One must leave not only material goods but also spiritual ones. The Kingdom is of the poor in spirit (Mt 5: 3), of those who have become like children and accept it as a gift from the Father to His children in the Son. The privilege of the little ones and the least, is that, not deserving it, they understand that it is a gift. The others—the rich in spirit—will only accept it if, unlike the elder brother, they welcome the younger one; only if, unlike those who have worked since dawn in this parable, they are happy that their brothers of the last hour, have the same children’s salary as them.

This parable, along with that of the steward in Lk 16: 1ff, is even more irritating than Lk 15: 1ff because it uses economic language: it is a dig at our market-oriented way of conceiving love. The passage is divided into two parts: there are five different calls from sunrise until an hour before sunset (vv. 1–7): at sunset there is the moment of reward, starting with the last ones who receive the same retribution as the first ones, who, of course, complain (vv. 8–16). The focus is on the rebuke to one of the workers of the first hour, who does not accept that the Lord treats those of the last hour as He does. In this parable, Jesus brings back down to earth what was in the ‘beginning’: the way of the Father, who is benevolent to all His children, even to those who do not deserve it (cf. Mt 5: 45).

The Church, if it seeks salvation from her works, will no longer have anything to do with Christ: she will fall away from grace (Gal 5: 4). Christians, knowing that they have been saved by grace (cf. Eph 2: 5), putting aside bitterness, indignation, anger, clamour, slander, and all kinds of malice, are called to be kind to one another, to pardon as God has pardoned them in Christ (Eph 4: 31f).

HUSTLE SMARTER, NOT HARDER

YOUTH VOICES • HUSTLING

HUSTLE SMARTER, NOT HARDER

Side-hustling has become popular, especially among unemployed youth or those in search of an extra income to make their living. Though it often demands prolonged hours of work, it also brings valuable contributions and untapped skills to the forefront of society

BY JILL WILLIAMS, CANDIDATE LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT | PRETORIA

IN SOUTH AFRICA, as well as 59 other countries worldwide, Worker’s Day has been celebrated on 1 May as a public holiday since 1889 (South African History Online 2022), through the support of an international federation of socialists and trade unions in Europe. Many workers’ benefits and humane standard working conditions, such as the eight-hour work day arose from various movements worldwide. Funnily enough, with the fast-paced world we are living in, it seems like we are moving back to exaggerated working hours, with an average of 21.1% of South Africans working more than 49 hours per week, nine hours more than the standard, according to Writer (2019). The COVID-19 pandemic fostered the rise of the ‘work-from-home’ model. This played a role in making people more accessible, since working at home became more widely accepted and accommodated through platforms such as Zoom, Microsoft Teams and Skype. It also reduced the amount of time completely away from work that we spend as a society.

The Built Environment is one sector of employment, where workers put in more hours than they are being paid for to get work done. Credit: Brian Odwar/Pixabay.

Hustles take many forms, including the well-known small business of mobile food trucks. Credit: Sam Jotham Sutharson/Pixabay.

Working beyond your hours

According to Labour Guide (2023), working overtime, i.e. working more hours than the standard 40 hours per week in South Africa, is voluntary and can be done for only three hours on any given day, with 10 hours being the maximum number of hours in any given week. Remuneration is given for additional work and both the employer and employee agree to the terms of work for overtime, including when it will commence and come to an end. This, however, does not usually happen for over-worked individuals, particularly in the private sector, who are working extensively beyond their normal working hours to ensure work is completed on time and to ensure they keep their jobs.

People working in the field of the Built Environment, often speak of the private workspace regularly being a situation of worker exploitation as work is being done beyond the standard working hours, with no overtime or additional benefits. With the scarcity of jobs for young professionals in South Africa (let alone well-paying jobs), everyone wants to prove their willingness to work and lead in a company by accepting more responsibility and gaining more work experience for minimal or no remuneration. This is likely happening in other sectors too. Although there are councils which are intended to prevent and regulate things like this, the implementation of good practice is happening at a very slow pace—far too slow for the rate of economic shifts happening globally.

Being busy vs being productive

According to Writer (2019), The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) uses GDP per hour worked as a measure to track actual employee productivity in a given country. This has identified that on average, local workers work 8.6 hours a day; however, in terms of productivity, South Africa is contributing only $98 per hour worked, and ranking second last to Greece, amongst countries who are part of the study. Although we work long hours, our productivity levels in monetary terms are low. This makes one ask the question—are we busy being busy and staying occupied or busy being productive and bearing actual fruit from our work?

Vetkoek dough packaged and ready for distribution to the clients. Credit: Jill Williams.

Frying samoosa’s for a client’s order. Credit: Jill Williams

The phrase working smarter and not harder comes to mind. Is our way of working really beneficial for us in this country? Above and beyond this, we have faced great hits to our global economy due to factors such as the war in Ukraine, resulting in shortages of wheat and other products in various countries and contributing to high inflation rates in the prices of food in South Africa. This has placed pressure on the daily needs and money available for households of all calibres. We want better pay and better-paying jobs so that we can meet our daily needs, and often this means resorting to working longer hours.

As COVID hit and the rise of home chefs started trending, I began realising that I can put my new role as a cook to good use

One of the ways we have begun working extended hours, particularly in a more digitalised and social-media-exposed society, is through the rising trend of side-hustling online and otherwise, to make an extra income. This has become very popular and gained momentum, particularly amongst young people who have work and even for those who don’t have work but are looking to make a primary income. These side hustles range greatly from the selling of beauty products such as Avon, making natural beauty products and scents and selling them; the selling of homemade cooked ready-to-eat or heat-and-eat foods; drop shipping; teaching kids English online; or even type-writing and transcribing online, to mention but a few.

Side-hustling own experience

As a society, I feel that although we are pushing children through universities, to get their degrees and become academic doctors (which are all great things), we lack absorbing these obtained skills back into the job market. Too often, people are labelled as overqualified and have to settle for jobs that are not even in line with what they had studied, just to earn an income. Now and then a Facebook post shows graduates, fully clothed in their academic regalia, standing at the side of the road and begging for a job. Added to this is the need for people to reduce their wage expectations in the job market due to the need for more work experience than one might have been able to acquire while studying. Some of my friends who graduated with me struggled for many months to get a job, despite them having a Master’s Degree and more than two years of prior work experience. It’s a jungle out there.

I do foresee a great harvest of job availability and the growth of microeconomies through the energy and resilience youth has to offer the world

Before I began my current job, I experienced a few months of being unemployed. The moment I saw the ‘pass’ on my academic record and was informed I would be graduating, I was flooded with a sense of relief and gratitude, followed by the numbing thought: WHAT NOW? I was officially unemployed. I had instantly switched from being a student to being a statistic. In the months leading up to the time I began working in my current job, I was actively doing my bit to get employment. However, I still needed funds in the interim. I became frustrated at the process and the waiting, even despondent at times in that I could not put into practice the skills I had spent so long obtaining. Now I was a cook, a cleaner and a general homebody, an unemployed person. As COVID hit and the rise of home chefs started trending, I began realising that I can put my new role as a cook to good use. I began selling some of the foods I liked making, such as vetkoek (savoury fried dough), koeksister (twisted doughnut like treats with cinnamon and coconut), roti and samoosas. I also made use of skills I had learnt in varsity in terms of marketing my products on social media and creating digital posters and short videos. This greatly helped to spread the word about my product. I also got mostly positive feedback from clients and had some repeat customers. I was assisted somewhat with making roti’s by a family member when I had larger orders and my dad assisted greatly with transportation for free deliveries of the products to my clients.

Overqualified people often cannot find work due to little work experienced. Credit: Alpesh Solanki/za.pinterest.com.

This was a great learning experience and showed me that I could really make something of this with a few tweaks to my business model. Thankfully, I got a job four months after I completed my studies. On the business side of things, I tried to convert my hustle into a side hustle. This worked to some degree, but I eventually realised I would require more capacity in terms of manpower, as well as a physical location for my products to be sold for a continual influx of customers. My inability to keep up with orders and manage my working hours lead to my decision to halt the side hustle, to focus on my main hustle, allowing myself time to rest and recuperate after the mental trauma of having studied for the past seven years. I haven’t yet resuscitated the business, but I will. Watch out world!

We need to find a way to make money work for us more than we work for our money

What I learnt from this experience was that one needs to be realistic with what you are expecting from your business in terms of time and the amount of money, skills and effort you would need to put into the business. What risk reward factor are you willing to invest or spend on your business or side hustle? Another important thing is that you need to be vocal about your product or service. That is where networking starts: by making it known that you have something good to offer the world. This experience highlighted to me that we somehow need to find a way to make money work for us more than we work for our money. Side-hustling, though very exciting and rewarding when done well, can be very exhausting and draining in terms of one’s time and energy. Balance is key, but can be very tricky to navigate.

What I do know for certain is that there is much more to explore in the realm of hustling and certainly many more lessons to be learnt. Working longer hours does not seem to be dying down soon, particularly for the entrepreneurs in our society, but I do foresee a great harvest of job availability and the growth of micro-economies through the energy and resilience youth has to offer the world.

FRONTIERS • ST MICHAEL’S HOSPITAL, CHAD

PROMOTING INTEGRAL HEALTH

At St Michael’s Hospital in Donomanga, Chad, a team of health professionals, coordinated by the Mexican Comboni Missionary Brother and medical doctor, Juan Carlos Salgado, does everything possible to ensure that patients are treated with respect and professionalism, healing them and helping them to have hope

BY BRO. BERNARDINO FRUTUOSO | MCCJ

WE LEFT Laï, in the south of Chad, at six o’clock in the morning, while it was still dawn. We were travelling to Donomanga, a small town 80 km away, where we were going to see the work done at St Michael’s Hospital. The institution belongs to the diocese of Laï and is part of the network of health services run by the local Caritas.

The heavy rainy season had just ended and caused a lot of damage to the dirt road. Our driver zigzagged the car with skill and speed, trying to avoid the big potholes which the rain and other vehicles had opened in the road. We passed groups of villagers on motorbikes, bicycles, trucks—used as passenger transport—or ox carts.

“With my service, I do everything I can to make people healthy and happy”

Along the roadside, villagers, mostly women and children, carry buckets and basins with water that they collect from the communal well and the firewood they use for cooking. Some children walk to school, which runs from Monday to Saturday, from 07:30–12:00 under a scorching sun, as the temperature starts to rise and soon exceeds 35°C. Everyone has to breathe the dust that rises in large dark clouds as motor vehicles pass by.

In this southern part of the country, rich in arable land and with great agricultural potential, rice and cotton plantations stretch across the horizon. We also pass herds of cattle on the roads.

Serving the sick with joy

After a bumpy three-hour drive, we pass through the main gate of St Michael’s hospital. The first thing we see are groups of people sitting in the shade under leafy trees. Others occupy the corridors outside the various wards. “It is the patients’ families who take care of them. Each family takes responsibility for their patient, cooks for them and keeps a close eye on their health,” explains Brother Juan Carlos Salgado, a Comboni missionary and the only doctor practising in these facilities.

Sister Angela, a Mexican nurse who has been in Chad since 2008, belongs to the congregation of the Daughters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. She collaborates with the administration of the hospital and takes us on a tour of the facilities. She tells us that the hospital has a capacity for 70 inpatients, divided between paediatrics, maternity, general medicine and infectious diseases. The hospital serves 10 000 patients and is the only one for the 111 538 inhabitants of the Donomanga district.

Bro. Juan Carlos examining one of the patients.

Maria Oralia, also Mexican and who arrived in Chad just over a year ago, tells us that the logistics of storing the medicines were demanding and complicated, as there is no public electricity service and they had to use a diesel generator and batteries. However, “this task is now easier”, she says with a smile, “because a few days ago 24 solar panels were installed and guarantee energy throughout the day and allow us, for example, to preserve medicines which need low temperatures for storage.”

Bro. Juan Carlos adds that it can be difficult to understand how a hospital can function without energy, but “they have adapted to working with scarce resources”. He says they can now “have a blood bank, keep basic services running for 24 hours and even perform some operations with more peace of mind in case of emergency”. Before, they had to turn on the electric generator hoping it wouldn’t break down.

In the maternity ward, Sister Aurelia, a young nurse originally from Guatemala, has been working at the hospital since 2008 and is responsible for the administration of this wing, the paediatric ward and the operating theatre. With a warm smile, she tells us that she is originally from San Marcos, a region with fairly mild temperatures, but has adapted well to the hot, dry climate of Chad. In the cool mornings of the dry season, she “even has to put on a coat” because she feels cold: night temperatures drop to 14–16°C and Chadians wear thick coats. She stresses that the mission of her institute, founded in Guadalajara, Mexico, by Mother Naty Venegas, the first female Mexican saint, is to serve those who suffer most, the sick, and that she is very happy at Saint Michael’s.

Bro. Juan Carlos worked in the Democratic Republic of Congo as a nurse before coming to Chad

Sr Aurelia tells us that they receive, on average, about 100 parturients a year, often with some kind of complication. “When there are difficult situations that the nurses have not been able to resolve in the village health centres, they send the pregnant women back to the hospital,” she explains. Sr Aurelia enters the room and talks to a woman who had been bitten by a snake and was already being medicated. She asked a man sitting by the door to take out of a jar the small poisonous snake that one of the villagers had killed. She tells us that “if the lady had not been assisted, the poison would soon have spread and she would have died quickly. Snakebites are still frequent in the region, and people are bitten when they work in the fields or the villages”. Sr Aurelia says “Every year, there are about 100 patients who arrive at the hospital in this condition”.

Bro. Juan Carlos attends to a pregnant woman and, shortly afterwards, performs an ultrasound scan to make a better diagnosis, find out about the health of the baby and the mother, and decide what steps to take.

Daily challenges

The hospital, as we have observed, is well organised, although it does not have many staff members, since, including all the employees, only 38 people work there.

When we arrived, Bro. Juan Carlos was in his consulting room attending to the outpatients arriving that day. He says that many people arrive at the hospital already very sick, because “first they resort to local medicines and healers and only after that, if there are no positive results, they come to the hospital”. Many patients arrive already very ill, for example, with major infections resulting from accidents or injuries with knives, machetes or weapons, or very advanced diseases. The most common diseases in the region are infectious diseases, namely tuberculosis and malaria, child malnutrition and respiratory diseases. During the rainy season from May to September, malaria frequently affects children and the recovery process is more complicated, as many suffer from severe anaemia.

Mexican Sr Maria Oralia, from the Congregation of the Daughters
of the Sacred Heart, responsible for the pharmacy of the hospital.

Brother Juan Carlos evaluates the risky pregnancy of a woman
by means of an ultrasound scan.

The missionary doctor’s working day starts early with visits to patients in the different wards; it continues with outpatient consultations, ultrasound scans and minor surgeries. “The more complex and time-consuming surgeries are scheduled for Thursday and Friday each week. However, in case of emergency, they are done at any time, even during the night,” explains the missionary. For this, there are two operating theatres, equipped with the essential equipment.

“Everyone is treated with the respect and dignity they deserve. My greatest joy is to see patients going home cured,”

Bro. Juan Carlos worked in the Democratic Republic of Congo as a nurse before coming to Chad. It was only after a few years, in 2003, that he went to study medicine at the University of Gulu in Uganda. When he finished his degree, he returned to Congolese territory and moved to the hospital of the diocese of Wamba, where he co-ordinated and supervised the network of dispensaries. In Chad, for the past two years, he has been carrying out a difficult service, but one that fulfils him as a person, as a missionary brother and as a doctor. He values his work with the sick, the most vulnerable in society, despite not having many human and technical resources.

Brother Juan Carlos with the team of nurses from the internal medicine ward.

“I am happy to be here. I like the quiet life of the countryside better than the stress and hustle and bustle of the big cities,” he explains. However, working in this remote location has its limitations, drawbacks and challenges. The biggest challenge he faces as a doctor “is the lack of support from other experienced colleagues, with whom I could talk and discuss the more complicated clinical cases”. However, he says that over the years of practise, he has gained “confidence to make decisions” and, whenever possible, he has tried to consult “friendly colleagues using communication platforms, as new technologies allow this teamwork”.

He adds that, despite being in a remote location, this does not prevent solidarity. There is a group of Spanish ophthalmologists who come every year to work, with great dedication, for two weeks as volunteers at the hospital. His dream is to have teams of volunteer doctors from other specialities, especially in oral health, as “this service is practically non-existent in this country”.

He says that when he first arrived in Chad he had difficulty adjusting to the climate and the extreme temperatures. With such an intense workload, it is easy to become dehydrated in this climate, so “I often suffer from kidney stones”. As malaria is endemic, he is also recurrently infected, and this year he has already suffered three characteristic bouts of the disease.

Helping hands of brotherhood and solidarity

Due to the limited resources of the people in the region—most of them are engaged in subsistence farming—consultations and hospitalisation cost very little. As the hospital receives no state funding, finding the funds to keep it running is always a major challenge, requiring ‘creativity and budgetary discipline’.

The hospital serves 10 000 patients and is the only one for the 111 538 inhabitants of the Donomanga district

Among the most urgent needs, Bro. Juan Carlos mentions are an X-ray machine; a unit for sterilising clothes and surgical instruments; a new refrigerator for the blood bank; and repair of the leaking water tank. He adds that “working with limited resources is not easy,” but they have learned to manage them so that “everything works well”. In addition, everyone at the hospital is aware of recycling and minimising waste as much as possible. Bro. Juan Carlos has many projects in mind for the future of the hospital, especially those aimed at ensuring its sustainability. Among these, he mentions the planting of cashew nuts to sell the fruit and the purchase of a tractor to till and cultivate the land owned by the hospital.

Entrance of St Michael’s Hospital, the only hospital in the District of Donamanga in Chad.

Bro. Juan Carlos’ face shows the serene joy of a life given out of love for God and our most vulnerable brothers and sisters. “With my service, I do everything I can to make people healthy and happy. Everyone is treated with the respect and dignity they deserve. My greatest joy is to see patients going home cured,” he confesses shyly.

The missionary doctor ends his days tired and often stays at the hospital even at night because he has to perform urgent operations. On those occasions, he cannot come back to sleep in the house of his nearby Comboni community, where he shares his life with three priests—from Mexico, Togo and the Central African Republic—dedicated to the pastoral care of the parish of Donomanga and the twelve small rural Christian communities in the area. Despite the difficulties, Bro. Juan Carlos is a fulfilled person, happy for the mission he carries out with his competent, fraternal and supportive hands, which help to give life and hope to the inhabitants of this remote village in Chad.

REFLECTIONS • AFRICAN LIVELIHOODS

JOB SEEKING AND JOB CREATION

Today many job seekers find that with challenges to the prospect of finding employment, they need to dig deeper and become more innovative and enterprising by creating jobs that add value to society. This goes for graduates, tradespeople and general workers alike. This approach, although daunting, leads to security, innovation and in some instances huge success!

BY MARIOLA BRAVO | WRITER, PRETORIA

Work as integral to life

In theory, we are free, with democratic constitutions making provision for fair work and pay at a grassroots level—but taking for granted the availability of work and access to livelihood, amounts to living in a fool’s paradise. The unfortunate reality is that most university graduates
have no employment prospects, while laypersons and labourers are limited, finding it hard to celebrate the recent increase by Minister Thulas Nxesi, South African Department of Employment and Labour, of the minimum wage in South Africa to R25.42 per hour.

While unemployment is a growing global phenomenon, rampant unemployment rates plague the African continent. South Africa’s unemployment rate was 32.7% in the fourth quarter of 2022 (businesstech. co.za 2023). Improvement in the situation seems far off with headlines speaking of huge job cuts and even a complete economic shutdown.

Similarly, other African economies such as Angola, had 30.2% unemployment in June 2022, and Nigeria, 33.3% in December 2020 (tradingeconomics.com) show alarming numbers of about one in three people and their families having no fixed income. Work is meant to evoke rich personal growth, where creativity, a legacy for the future, development of our talents, living out our values, relating to others and giving glory to God, enter into play.

Will we harness the future of Africa’s remaining resources and ensure the future of its people?

Pope Francis (2016), says the following regarding the role of work in human society: “It is clear from the very first pages of the Bible that work is an essential part of human dignity; labour also makes possible the development of society and provides for the sustenance, stability and fruitfulness of one’s family.” Pope Francis quotes the Bible (Ps 128: 5, 6): ‘May you see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life! May you see your children’s children!’ The fact remains, Africa has never failed to be a land of abundance, rich in natural resources, stable weather conditions and a strong and vibrant people. With families unable to sustain themselves on minimum wages, recent decades have seen farmlands abandoned and breadwinners flocking to cities in search of opportunity. In these cities, nevertheless, it seems that dreams of a better life are not met with fulfilment. This long-standing problem of failure to create, provide and seize opportunity, leaves many African populations in abject poverty. Where did things go wrong? Where do we stand here and now? Where can we contribute to change?

Leadership, governance and globalisation

The world is becoming one. Globalisation is slowly integrating all companies, governments, and people of different nations. Money is central, considered the mover of all things. Leaders are fierce and wielding more power than ever, while human dignity and God’s will are cast aside as irrelevant! Pope Benedict XVI (2009) said it best when
he proclaimed, “I would like to remind everyone, especially governments engaged in boosting the world’s economic and social assets, that the primary capital to be safeguarded and valued is man, the human person in his or her integrity: man is the source, the focus and the aim of all economic and social life.” A lot can be said for Africa historically in terms of sound governance. Among the great civilisations born of Africa are the Zimbabwean Empire of Mwenemutapa, the Ethiopian/Aksumites
and Nubians, and the Egyptian Empire. Why then be doubtful that going forward, such good governance—often steeped in religious devotion—cannot again emerge?

Ubuntu, for example, stems from the ancient Zimbabwean civilization of
Mwenemutapa that practised ubuntu governance, meaning that ubuntu is more than just a philosophy but a practice. Ubuntu is an ancient Nguni word which emphasizes the importance of the group or community, as well as sharing and the moral attributes of a person. The Zulu saying, ‘umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu,’ meaning, ‘I am because we are’, sums up the spirit of this practice. St Paul’s letter (Gal 5:13, 14) resonates beautifully with the core values of ubuntu, when he says, “For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love be servants of one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word, ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’”

Past colonialism and future Artificial Intelligence

The past and the future should be factored in as we navigate towards tomorrow. The advent of the 4th Industrial Revolution (4IR) and the rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and robots has serious implications for job creation not only here in Africa, but worldwide—the two notions are, in
fact, irreconcilable. As the 4IR progresses, technology, products, and information will be spread at a faster pace than ever imagined. Realistically, there will be new developments which transform the way
people live, work and relate to one another. Although many developments are extraordinarily positive, for example, in the field of prosthetics and implementing AI in risky situations, the propensity
of industries to create profit at any cost, consistently cheats the common man of his human rights and dignity.

This is not to say that AI will not drive massive innovation. However, with the advent of the Fifth Generation (5G) technology together with airborne drone capability and advanced robot mobility, AI will very soon become mobile. Data collection and mimicry of all human endeavour
have been ongoing for decades. Together with software development, AI mobility will make human labour all but obsolete, replacing almost all humans in jobs with AI robot alternatives, including, but not limited to teaching, transport of people and goods, law, medicine, policing, mining
and possibly even farming. With humans needing access to resources to survive, this can easily cause humankind to be perceived as nothing more than a liability to the system—a far cry from the plans God has for us, I am sure! With unemployment set to become the norm, this may be
the last opportunity to determine how we navigate into this new territory. Proverbs 12: 11 tells us clearly that, ‘He who tills his land will have plenty of bread, but he who follows worthless pursuits has no sense.’

Failure to address unemployment issues holistically and immediately will mean that positive change
will not be possible

In many cases, poverty results from a violation of the dignity of human work, primarily because work opportunities are limited. Pope Benedict XVI (2009) observed this saying, “…a low value is put on work and the rights that flow from it, especially the right to a just wage and to the
personal security of the worker and his or her family.” Failure to address unemployment issues holistically and immediately will mean that positive change will not be possible, which may later create room for
rebellion and destruction. The question is, will we harness the future of Africa’s remaining resources and ensure the future of its people? Will handshakes happening behind the scenes once again shortchange that dignity of the common man? Will Africa and its people find the courage
and stamina to steer themselves towards a future worthy of future generations? These are questions for each of us to answer for ourselves.St John Paul II (1991) touched on the subject of gross unemployment when he said, “The obligation to earn one’s bread by the sweat of one’s brow also presumes the right to do so. A society in which this right is systematically denied, in which economic policies do not allow workers to reach satisfactory levels of employment, cannot be justified from an ethical point of view, nor can that society attain social peace.”

Skills development and job creation

It will take heart and sheer determination to emerge triumphant from such dire circumstances of unemployment. The development of entrepreneurial skills must take precedence over mere job-seeking. Skills development, improved education programmes and solid life skills need urgent attention. These objectives need support from parents in the home, government institutions, the Church and society as a whole.

Pope Francis (2013) says “Growth in justice requires more than economic growth while presupposing such growth: it requires decisions, programmes, mechanisms and processes specifically geared to a better distribution of income, the creation of sources of employment and an integral promotion of the poor which goes beyond a simple welfare mentality. I am far from proposing an irresponsible populism, but the economy can no longer turn to remedies that are a new poison, such as attempting to increase profits by reducing the workforce and thereby adding to the ranks of the excluded.”

Some of the many ways Africa can address unemployment include: translating economic growth into sustainable decent jobs; moving from subsistence to entrepeneurship farming; reform in education and training; harnessing the benefits of the digital economy; rural development; conservation; Pro-African import and export precedents; and mechanisation for local production of goods and services. These and many more areas need reform and righteous innovation, knowing now already, that in Africa, more jobs are required, not less!

We know that luxury is not always synonymous with quality of life and not all that glitters is gold. Just as there is a price for following along blindly, there is a reward for labouring righteously. St Paul (Col 3: 23, 24) tells us, “Whatever your task, work heartily, as serving the Lord and not
men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward; you are serving the Lord Christ.”

PROFILE • WORK RIGHTS

CÉSAR CHAVEZ, A LIFE DEDICATED TO SOCIAL JUSTICE FOR LATINOS

César Chavez is an inspiring Catholic activist, a prophetic voice in the defence of Latino migrant workers in the USA. He responded to the Social Doctrine of the Church with his life, to protect the common good and to restore the rights of the oppressed

BY MARIAN PALLISTER | CHAIR OF PAX CHRISTI SCOTLAND

YUMA, ARIZONA, bills itself as ‘The gateway to the South West’. It sits on the borders of California and the Mexican states of Sonora and Baja California, near the junction of the Colorado and Gila Rivers, surrounded by mountains and what the city’s publicity team terms as ‘lush agricultural fields’. The city was established there because it was the safest place to cross this coming together of two unruly rivers.

In the early 20th century, however, no tourists were appreciating the beauty of the area—just the miserable shacks of Latino farm workers whose conditions were deplorable. Many were descended from slaves, all were poor, and many went unpaid.

Family roots

César Chavez was born to Juana and Librado Chavez on 31 March 1927, and he was, by comparison, a lucky baby. The grandfather after whom he was named, had crossed from Mexico into Texas in 1898 with his wife Dorotea and eight children and had set up a wood haulage business near Yuma. César’s father was the youngest of those immigrant children, and he and Juana had ambitiously added to the family business a pool hall, a grocery store and a garage, but by the time little César was two years old, these ambitions had crumbled and Librado and Juana had to take the children back to their grandmother’s house to live. After all—who could afford to pay for a game of pool when labour was so badly paid? Who could shop in the grocery store when workers didn’t receive a wage for their work?

The Chavez family survived as it grew (César had two sisters and two brothers), but when the grandmother died in 1939 and her farm was sold by the local government to pay back taxes, young César saw this eviction from their home as yet another injustice suffered by Latino families. A small but significant example of the discrimination experienced by Latino’s was the fact that ‘César’ was not the boy’s baptismal name. He had been called Césario, but Spanish was a forbidden language outside the home and by the time he went to school, the name was shortened to fit the authorities’ regulations.

To hear the cry of the poor, to seek dignity for the marginalised was simply part of who he was

Theirs was a devout Catholic family, and César was growing up guided by Catholic Social Teaching. To hear the cry of the poor, to seek dignity for the marginalised was simply part of who he was. He and the family needed that faith as the Great Depression shaped the first dozen or so years of César’s life. The Depression was, of course, worldwide, and
in the United States, unemployment rose to 23 %, with trade falling by 50 %.

The family moved on, seeking work in California, picking avocados and peas, moving so regularly that the children’s education suffered badly. César was bullied at school for his poor appearance, and his low grades—although, despite it all, he remained good at mathematics. He left formal education at 15, after attending 36 different schools and became—yes, a peripatetic farm labourer.

Adulthood and social commitment

When the United States engaged in the Second World War, César joined the US Navy, returning to work on the land in A pivotal moment in his life came in 1947 when he joined the National Farm Labour Union (NFLU) and was involved in strike action, leading the picketing at cotton plantations.

There was a series of labouring jobs, and in 1948 he married Helen Fabela. As their family grew, this might have been a time when social justice took a back seat and César settled into looking after his own. However, his faith was a guiding element of his life, and meeting with
two European-American social activists whose concerns were for Mexican-Americans, gave him a wider vision of how to help the Latino community.

Fred Ross and Fr Donald McDonnell worked with César to set up community organisations, to encourage Latino’s to register to vote so that they would have a say in the running of the country, and he helped to build a church for the community—Our Lady of Guadalupe in Sal Si Puedes.

What did César get from this relationship with the two activists? Exposure to books that, not only helped his ability to read but also inspired him to take his activism to the highest heights. He was now aiming to follow in the footsteps of St Francis of Assisi, Mahatma Gandhi, and more immediately, the American labour organisers, John L. Lewis and Eugene V. Debs. Fred Ross and César grew the Community Service Organisation into a national organisation.

His family life suffered as he lived out a peripatetic campaigning existence, and there was growing opposition to what was seen as leftist activism. César not only rode the storm but also brought in the cavalry— the Catholic Church. Marco G. Prouty, in his book, César Chavez, the Catholic bishops, and the farmworkers’ struggle for social justice, explains that this struggle between Catholic workers and Catholic landowners split the community in California’s Central Valley during what was known as the Delano Grape Strike from 1965–1970. César went twice to the Catholic hierarchy for help and eventually in 1969, the bishops agreed to support the labourers and created the Ad Hoc Committee on Farm Labour.

That Committee sent five bishops and two priests to the strike scene and brought about a settlement after five years of conflict. The Church then openly supported César and the United Farmworkers Union in a battle over ill-paid lettuce production. César said the intervention was “the single most important thing that has helped us”. It was, of course, the bishops’ adherence to Catholic Social Teaching that swayed them into supporting César’s fight for farmworkers’ rights.

The farmworkers had suffered this exploitation for generations: the provision of shacks as a substitute for wages, no basic facilities, insurance, or medical provision. César’s organisation of this vast marginalised population into the National Farm Workers Association, which became the United Farm Workers, brought about a living wage and employment benefits through protest marches, strikes and boycotts and the support from the Catholic bishops. It was he who pushed forward the legislation for the first Bill of Rights for agricultural workers in the United States.

Non-violent prophetic voice

He said, “Like the other immigrant groups, the day will come when we win the economic and political rewards which are in keeping with our numbers in society. The day will come when the politicians will do the right thing for our people out of political necessity and not out of charity or idealism.”

He spent his life working to better the lives of the Latino immigrants
whose roots and faith he shared. It has been said that he is to the Latino community what Martin Luther King Jnr is to African-Americans. Perhaps the Presidential Medal of Freedom awarded after his death should have come sooner. A stamp in his honour is perhaps not sufficient recognition; perhaps the calls for his canonisation should be followed through.

This man died in 1993, having achieved so much
with the help of the Catholic Bishops

As a peace activist, for me, one of the most impressive aspects of César Chavez’ life and work is that he was totally committed to nonviolence. Those strikes and protests, those picket lines and hunger strikes were all carried out in the spirit of nonviolence and therefore all the more
impressive in that they were successful.

His people’s hardships had been his own. When the Chavez family moved to California, they had to leave their chickens, cows, horses and implements; the family treasures brought from Mexico by grannies and grandpas; from living on the family farm to living under a canvas, or Mum, Dad and five children sleeping in a car. It is unsurprising that his campaigns were for a minimum wage; unemployment insurance for farm workers; the farm workers’ right to collective bargaining; a life insurance
plan; and a credit union.

César said, “Once social change begins, it cannot be reversed. You cannot uneducate the person who has learned to read. You cannot humiliate the person who feels pride. You cannot oppress the people who are not afraid anymore. We have seen the future, and the future is ours.”

What is tragic is that there has been a reversal. Only in 2023, new legislation is being considered in the US to protect Latino workers. Although more than 62 million Latinos now live and work in the United States, contributing $2.7 trillion to the economy, there is still marginalisation, discrimination, and the need to challenge the social, economic, and political barriers that affect them.

Exemplary life

César Chavez and the Union of Farm Workers were not only supported by American bishops and Pope Paul VI but by different faith traditions, and by politicians such as Senator Robert F. Kennedy, activists such as Dorothy Day and Martin Luther King Jr. César was praised as a man of integrity. As a devout Catholic, Chavez ended a 25-day hunger strike in 1968 by receiving the body of Christ, sitting next to Senator Kennedy.

In 1974, Pope Paul VI, the Pope who told us that if we wanted peace we
should work for justice, welcomed César Chavez to the Vatican as a “loyal son of the Catholic Church and as a distinguished leader and representative of the Mexican-American community in the United States.”

This man died in 1993, having achieved so much with the help of the Catholic Bishops. Of course, César Chavez had his faults and weaknesses. These are acknowledged in Miriam Pawel’s book, The
crusades of César Chavez—so the jury is out on whether this was a hero with feet of clay or a potential saint.

He is already regarded as the latter in Mexico and there is much still said in his favour: in 2019, a US university hosted an exhibition recalling his life and work entitled, History rediscovered: the Holy Alliance of the Catholic Church, Seton Hall University, and iconic labour rights activist, Cesar Chavez; there is a state landmark in his honour; and streets, schools and libraries are still being named for him in California. Barak Obama used César’s rallying cry of “Sí, se puede” (Yes, we can) in his presidential campaign to bring together the disempowered.

One of his sisters has said that the 2015 move to begin the process of declaring him officially a saint would have been dismissed by César as too grandiose. Perhaps César Chavez’ modesty should prevail.

FEATURES • BISHOP CONSTANTINO BOGAIO MCCJ

‘SAVE AFRICA WITH AFRICA’

The episcopal ordination of the Comboni Missionary Antonio Constantino Bogaio as Auxiliary Bishop of Beira, took place on 19 February 2023 in the Central Mozambican city. Archbishop of Beira, Most Rev. Claudio Dalla Zuanna, the main ordaining Bishop, was assisted by Most Rev. Inácio Saúre, Archbishop of Nampula and President of the Bishop’s Conference (CEM), and Rt. Rev. João Hatoa Nunes, Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Maputo and Vice-President of CEM as co-ordaining bishops

BY RAFAEL ARMADA MCCJ | IN BEIRA, MOZAMBIQUE

A crowd of over five thousand faithful witnessed and joyfully participated in the ceremony celebrated in the multi-purpose hall of the Railway Company of Beira. In December 2022, the nomination of Bishop Bogaio by Pope Francis, as the first Mozambican Bishop of Beira, came just after he had concluded his six-year service as Provincial Superior of the Comboni Missionaries in Mozambique. A day after the celebration, the newly ordained Bishop offered his first interview to Worldwide

How would you evaluate your experience as Provincial of the Comboni Missionaries in Mozambique?

I am grateful to those who believed in me and entrusted me with this service to my Province of origin which, nevertheless, has not been an easy one. In this ministry of leadership, you may find that each confrere has an expectation of what the Provincial can do for him and for his community. Instead, you have to look at things as a whole, considering our Comboni presence, the legacy received, the charism now flourishing in Mozambique and its impact on the local Church. We have tried to give relevance to St Daniel Comboni’s motto, ‘Save Africa with Africa’ through fostering and supporting local vocations. In fact, a Province without vocations does not have much future.

In Mozambique, we are living in a moment of a ‘vocational boom’, but the vocations are not ours, but of the Comboni Institute. Those in formation must be aware of that and the confreres too. The congregation needs to invest in the field of formation, providing enough formators in Provinces where there are many vocations, so that we can accompany them properly. This is very important because the formation phases are where we transmit the values of consecrated life, our charism in its universal dimension and we teach the candidates how we evangelize as Comboni missionaries. After the formation, some will part from their country and others will have to remain here to consolidate our presence; the Mozambique Church has always relied on the Comboni missionaries.

Another challenge is to be the first Mozambican Provincial. The Mozambican confreres expected me to be on their side and the African confreres thought: ‘now we have one of us’; also there was the anxiety of the elder confreres about what I was going to do; but I am at the service of all missionaries, our work is Catholic, as Comboni said, not Mozambican or Portuguese. This is our Comboni identity and from there is where we must start.

Our Comboni identity is very beautiful because we are called to live as Cenacles of Apostles, whereby in diversity we share our lives. Mission is not done alone, but as a community, we need each other. Another challenge I faced was how to reorganize our presence in Mozambique. We had much impact in the northern and central regions, but in the south, we have transferred many parishes to the local Church, with an intention of requalifying our presence. We had Comboni communities which served two parishes, a distance of 70 km from each other. There was a great dispersion. Therefore, the idea was to have one parish for each Comboni community. We have reduced the number of our commitments in order to consolidate our presence, a process that needs time. We have remained with 12 Comboni communities in the country. It is true that we have a decreasing number of confreres working in the Province, but we also have a future with 42 postulants, 25 pre-ostulants and novices.

Is the Mozambican Church a missionary Church?

Yes, definitely, the Mozambican Church is a missionary Church, but that dimension is now a bit shaky because we have been focusing on consolidating the local Church. We have to emphasize the missionary dimension now. We still have many places of first evangelization. The missionary dimension also includes lay evangelizers, such as many catechists committed outside the cities, in rural areas, who maintain parishes with no priest and other Christian communities. It is important to maintain that spirit.

As President of the Conference of Religious Institutes in Mozambique you were dedicated to assisting those affected by the crisis in Cabo Delgado in 2021. How have you seen that ministry and its impact on the lives of the people, even beyond its ecclesial aspect?

The first thing we tried to do was to welcome our brothers and sisters, supporting especially the consecrated who were working on the front line. The Church in Pemba, even today, is giving a great response to this situation of terrorism, welcoming the displaced population and helping them to overcome their traumas through psycho-social counselling and also to maintain their faith.

In Mozambique, we are living in a moment of a ‘vocational boom’, but the vocations are not ours, but of the Comboni Institute

Terrorism here has various aspects and interests. We do not understand the core of what is taking place. The word ‘terrorism’ hides many things. We, as the Bishop’s Conference wrote and explained, need to help especially in ending the terrorism and supporting those who know about this reality.

How do you evaluate the exercised prophetic role of the Church regarding the denunciation of social evils?

There are two aspects regarding this dimension of denunciation; we do not want more casualties, but we believe in the daily martyrdom of those who work there. It is very easy to denounce and be shot, but what is the purpose of it? Instead, every day’s commitment, giving witness to the people and making visible the reality that is causing this war—that is for me the real denunciation.

What are the social challenges in the region and those you may find in this new ministry as Auxiliary Bishop of Beira?

The level of poverty is high and this is one of the challenges. Another one is climate change with an average of 5–6 cyclones affecting this area every year. After cyclone Idai in 2019, people showed their resilience by managing to rebuild many structures and houses affected
by it, without much aid. We also need a change in our lifestyle. Mangroves are disappearing and trees are being cut down.

Another issue is inequality, with some people who own a lot while others barely have one or two meals a day. Some think that our mineral resources will save the country, but that is not the case.

Regarding my new service, I know that many people may think that I came to fulfil their expectations, but I came to evangelize. Secondly, I came to be in communion with the Church and to make the Gospel reach further. The Archdiocese has remote areas in need of evangelization. My mission is to give life and to help people to recover their ethical values.

A Church which has no sons and daughters, and does not allow her children to leave is a dead Church

I am also aware of possible conflicts among different cultural groups in the Archdiocese—but this is something often fostered by politicians who are not at the service of the people; not by ordinary citizens.

What is your dream as the new Auxiliary Bishop of Beira?

My dream is to serve the Church in the Archdiocese of Beira, together with His Grace Archbishop Claudio. My expectation is that we may shepherd and consolidate this local Church together, responding to her dimension of faith, also as priests. A Church which has no sons and daughters, and does not allow her children to leave is a dead Church. Pope Francis tells us often: go out! The local Church includes those who are present in her and those who leave as missionaries to other parts of the world. I will serve the Church with the Comboni charism, ‘save Africa with Africa’, and as auxiliary bishop, I have to assist and support the commitments of my brother His Grace Archbishop Claudio.

RADAR • A SOUTH AFRICAN PERSPECTIVE

WORK IN THE 21ST CENTURY CHALLENGES IN A NEW INFORMATION SOCIETY

Our world of work is undergoing a revolution. Artificial Intelligence, robotisation and automation are replacing the human workforce. To combact this, it is necessary to focus on education and training of those skills that better the chances of employability

BY CHRISTOFFEL J. GELDENHUYS | LABOUR SPECIALIST, CJ ATTORNEYS
SUSAN SELZER | B. PROC. LABOUR LAW UNISA, PRETORIA

WHAT KIND of employment will there be tomorrow, especially considering that the rules which have been developed to monitor the employment relations of yesterday and today are turning out to be totally inappropriate for the present and the future world of work. For example, the rise in the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI), such as its chatbot (conversational robot) in the ChatGPT programme, to generate content which would have previously been produced through human labour.

Tremendous changes are taking place in the labour market and increasing numbers of people join the ranks of the unemployed. Some jobs are being eliminated and new ones have been created. One can even go as far as to predict the end of the world of work as we know it. For most citizens, work represents a viable path to a meaningful way of life by affording them access to the market of goods and services, providing the possibility to make a positive contribution to their own family and society at large and offering enriched human connections. Therefore, unemployment comes to represent marginalisation and exclusion. Indeed, work is a question of human dignity. It stands to reason that every path must be explored to enable more citizens to have the benefit of decent employment.

There are several factors that influence the world of work. The globalisation of the market economy is but one. International competition remains, amongst other things, the basic product/service at the best (often the cheapest) price. Ironically in a money-driven world, restructuring with massive job losses often pushes up the price of shares, as productivity and profits are expected to be greater.

The demographic explosion refers to two phenomena. Firstly, every hour, 12 500 new babies are born in the world, which adds a billion more inhabitants to our planet every decade. Secondly, many of us will live longer. People in the 21st century, certainly in the advanced economies, will live on average, close to a hundred years, or even longer. This outwardly ‘happy’ development has negative implications for our social security budgets, especially in the area of pensions/guaranteed income and the medical sector, but also positive implications for the world of work. Care of elderly people will prove to be a rapidly expanding provider of employment.

New work dynamics

Networking is the keyword. The work of today and tomorrow will thus perform in one or more networks, on one’s own, but mostly as part of a team, in the framework of shorter or longer projects, for which it will be contracted. Collective arrangements will be mere frameworks, or simply fade away, as a result of this new employment dynamic.

There will be an ongoing dramatic job shift, which is only just beginning. Job losses caused by other factors such as robotisation and automation will result in repetitive work being shed on a massive scale. We will increasingly depend on routine production and services, in-person services and creative inputs. It is thus obvious that routine or repetitive jobs are on the decline. The worker who performs routine production or service activities faces the threat of automation on the one hand and from cut-throat competition with low-wage countries on the other, with production being provided at much lower wages and in far less favourable working conditions, in India and China, for example.

The focus of education and training should be on
such skills that better the chances of employability
of the youth entering the job market

A continuous decline in routine jobs can therefore be predicted, with middle and routine management jobs also being threatened. However, in-person services are faring better. Hereto, automation plays a significant role. The replacement of human labour with machinery contributes to the growing competition between workers who have lost their routine jobs and immigrant workers alike. This is forcing their wages downwards, while creative workers are the only ones who are flourishing. They can offer their creative services on the world market and are the only people who are really contributing a high added value and being well rewarded for it.

The use of AI in the workforce is also rendering human skills and intelligence redundant in many sectors. Therefore, the demand for skills and knowledge is shifting towards those that AI does not possess to a satisfactory degree. To combat this, the focus of education and training should be on such skills that better the chances of employability of the youth entering the job market, especially in South Africa, where the youth unemployment rate is at an all-time high.

Financial services are another growing business and a weapon of speculation in the quest to maximise profits in the shortest term. For instance, the rise of cryptocurrency provides opportunities for entrepreneurship and employment which were not previously available and can be seen as unchartered territory that is worthy of exploration in this age of information.

One aspect that will remain present in the future working environment is the need for resolving labour
conflicts and disputes

Evidently, our world of work is undergoing a revolution. We have been
catapulted into a new information society, where the realities and the truths of yesterday are becoming increasingly irrelevant. Globalisation and new technologies are causing enterprises to explode into networks of teams where work will be done on a project basis. The employment relationship, the role of social partners and the like will be fundamentally changed, in terms of how both employers and employees approach the workplace; shifting from a traditionally ‘stable’ 9-to-5 activity to a more dynamic, interactive and fastchanging environment. There is a need for a mental revolution, especially in the area of vocational training, to grasp these challenges that lie before us and to determine what must be done to respond creatively and appropriately to the call of new opportunities which the information society offers. With this mentality, there is no shortage of work.

As a consequence, an economic environment with increased pressures
of unemployment, exacerbated by the demographic explosion, may leave no room for social policies that might burden public expenditure, which would mean cutting public jobs and reducing Social Security benefits, including pension and sickness benefits. The short-term nature of project-based employment would also make the provision of and access to such benefits more inexpedient.

Conflict resolution

Regardless of their roles or job titles, as long as humans remain present in the workforce, their foibles and fallacies will inevitably continue to affect the workplace. As such, one aspect that will remain present in the future working environment is the need for resolving labour conflicts and disputes. In South Africa, this role is played by the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA). This is an independent body that serves the function of a dispute resolution body and which has no affiliation to labour or business. It has mandatory and discretionary functions. One of its main purposes is to conciliate workplace disputes between employees and employers. In the workplace, where change is constantly taking place and for instance, jobs are being lost due to operational reasons, the Labour Relations Act of 66 of 1995 (as amended), sets out the procedural and substantive aspects which must be adhered to when job losses are imminent.

The purpose of the Labour Relations Act is to advance economic development, social justice, labour peace and the democratisation of the workplace by fulfilling the primary objectives of the aforementioned Act. The CCMA delivers cost-effective dispute resolution, which includes training and education.

In the ever-changing landscape of the workplace with technology—at times, replacing the human workforce—it is imperative that workers are aware that there is this body whose purpose is promoting stability in the workplace. Whatever the work of tomorrow shall be, the rules which monitor employment relations will have to be mutable and amended accordingly.

In a world where work is changing in unprecedented ways as a result of technological advancement, some jobs will be lost, others will be created, and new opportunities must be made use of to combat unemployment. Conflict resolution will need to adapt to these changes, but will still play a crucial role in the workplace of the future.

SPECIAL REPORT • ON WORK

LABOURING FOR THE COMMON GOOD

The Church regards work as a means through which the person serves others, not simply as a means for the provision of material needs. She upholds the rights of workers and envisages that employer and employee can contribute to the good of all, especially to the marginalised in society

BY CALLUM DAVID SCOTT | PERMANENT DEACON, ARCHDIOCESE OF PRETORIA & PROFESSOR OF PHILOSOPHY, UNISA

Jesus, the worker

Before beginning His ministry, Jesus was known among those in Nazareth as a tradesman. In Greek, Jesus was a ‘τέκτων’ (Mk 6: 3), often translated as carpenter. However, this word means more than a carpenter, but rather a builder, who would have carpentry amid his skills (Campbell 2005; Keith 2014). Regardless of the precise work Jesus did, He understood the nature of His trade and of business and the salvific nature of work (Catechism of the Catholic Church 2000 §533). This is apparent in some parables found in the Gospels, wherein Jesus uses characters who are workers and employees, and of money and labour issues e.g. five parables (Mt 13: 1–23, 47–50; 18: 23–35; 20: 1–16; 24:45–51). Jesus was conscious of the treatment of workers: ‘the labourer deserves to be paid’ (Lk 10: 7). It follows that He realized the consequence for those who did not or could not labour: ‘you [will] always have the poor with you’ (Mt 26: 11). St Paul took this a little further: anyone who is unwilling to work should not eat (2 Thes 3: 10).

Church’s understanding of work

The Catechism (2000) holds the Church’s official teaching on work (§§2426–2436). Here, the Church explicates the purpose of the duty and the right of working for the sake of the human, which is not only for material provision. Work has deeper meanings: through it, the worker serves others because work involves difficulties and toil, it spiritually unites the worker with the suffering and crucifixion of Christ, and it enables the worker to fulfil their potential. Consequently, in working to provide, in maximizing talents, and in participating—in a small way—in the redemptive activity of Christ, the worker is dignified.

However, work is not to be romanticized, for the Church, inspired by Jesus (Lk 16: 20)—as a voice crying out for justice for the exploited working People of God— is aware of the tensions that arise due to
stakeholder interests in labour.

The preferential option for the poor

The post-Vatican II Church compels the People of God always towards making “the preferential option for the poor” (Fr Pedro Arrupe SJ in Hebbelthwaite 2007). The advancement of social justice is taken so seriously as to be codified into the Church’s juridical text, The Code of Canon Law (2013):

[The Christian faithful] are… obliged to promote social justice and… to assist the poor… (Can. 222 §2).

A litmus test for discerning present labour-related social justice issues is by determining the situation of people living in dire poverty by considering indices of statistics on employment rates. For our own country, South Africa, the International Labour Organization’s modelled estimate for 2022 indicates that 36% of all adults over the age of 25 are unemployed, with gender disparity increasing the figure to almost 40% for women.1

Across the globe, the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic continues to be felt in countries’ workforces not having recovered to pre-pandemic levels due to national and international lockdowns which prevented the activity of work in many instances (International Labour Organization [ILO] 2022). According to the ILO, in 2020, five million workers worldwide joined the category of the working poor, merely because one has work—whether formal or informal—does not translate into a situation of being able to make ends meet, let alone to flourish.

A dynamic of care must enter all aspects of the
economic relationship, so that the business may
be humanly sustainable

Apart from the Catechism’s reflections on work, the Second Vatican Council’s Gaudium et Spes (1965) and the encyclical letters which popes have written from the latter 19th century on work—among these, the first, Pope Leo XIII’s Rerum Novarum (1891), followed by Pope Pius XI’s Quarageismo Anno (1931), Pope St John Paul II’s Laborem Exercens (1981) and Centesimus Annus (1991), and Pope Benedict XVI’s Caritas in Veritate (2009)—there are other instances of support to labour movements given by different popes. During late Communist times in the 1970s in Poland, a groundswell of trade unionism began (Karabel 1992). On the 16th of October 1978, a Pole was elected pope, Karol Wojtyla (John Paul II), and by June 1979, he returned to Poland: a pope in a Soviet land! The impetus given by Pope John Paul II to the labour movement for change against the Soviet state cannot be underestimated (Weigel 2003). On Warsaw’s Victory Square, Pope John Paul (1979) praised the sweat of the Polish people’s labour “in the fields, the workshop, the mine, the foundries and the factories… creative work in the universities, the higher institutes, the libraries”. The history of Solidarność and the fall of Communism bears testimony to his just, motivating message to his subjugated people.

Wealth for the common good

Pope Francis (2021) gave a prophetic and challenging reflection on labour in his message to the 109th meeting of the ILO. He covered the critique that Catholic Social Teaching gives on labour in the contemporary world: by placing the human person—in her varied occupations, settings, and situations—at the heart of the Church’s considerations which are for the common good of all people, most especially of the vulnerable. through “…illness, age, disability, displacement, marginalization or dependency” (2021). To achieve this common good, Pope Francis invites all people involved in labour, whether factory owner or dustbin collector, to re-imagine work by moving beyond “the past fixations on profit, isolation and nationalism, blind consumerism and denial of the… discrimination against our ‘throwaway’ brothers and sisters in our society.” The Pope is not asking business not to make money, but to approach wealth generation differently, that is, in a way more sustainable and more equitable for the greatest number of people, as opposed to the capitalist limitless expansion of bank balances of the very rich. This, the Holy Father identifies as the vocation of business owners, for it is only through the utilisation of their skills, that wealth can be produced for the common good, such that the lives of all people can become more liveable and more bearable. Herein lies a subtle critique against blatant capitalism, for economic activity, in producing wealth should do so for “the development of others and to… [eliminate] poverty.”

To conceptualise human labour in this radical model, it is necessary to move away from comprehending work as a means to produce, instead considering it to be a relational activity through which the generation of wealth occurs. Work as a relationship lays the responsibility for its healthy continuance upon all parties involved, e.g. the business owner who has injected her capital into a company to open it, is as important as the person who cleans the premises of the business, for without the capital, the business would not be, but without the cleaner, the customer may be unlikely to return. A dynamic of care must enter all aspects of the economic relationship, so that the business may be humanly sustainable.

Migrants and informal economy

This dynamic leads to the consideration of the employment and abuse of those who are most vulnerable worldwide, namely, migrants and refugees. Within the South African context, the Immigration Act 13 of 2002 and its amendments of 2011 make it illegal for any foreign persons to be employed in this country and are not permitted to work according to their immigration status (§38.1)—but many people who fall into these categories are employed. Often these are the people who perform what Pope Francis (2021) calls “dangerous, dirty and degrading” work. Whilst the Church deems it a right for all workers to be guaranteed a just wage for work done, in the case of migrants and refugees, underpayment is common, and because they should not be working, they do not have any legal recourse. The relational dignity that should be accorded them is removed. Moreover, their ‘illegal’ status, sees to it that they are not included in those who receive benefits such as health care, and in some countries, they cannot access the public health care system either.

The Holy Father points out a similar crisis of care that also faces legal nationals in countries where there is a significant proportion of the population engaged in informal work. In the South African setting, the informal economy comprises almost 30% of the gross domestic product (GDP) (World Economics 2023), which logically includes a huge proportion of the population. These workers do not have ‘social protection’ in the form of medical and life insurance and daycare, and many informal workers are women, who are more vulnerable than their male counterparts (Pope Francis 2021). While some trade unions exist to provide a degree of protection to the informal sector, most often, unions serve those in formal employment, and thus, are only mandated
to safeguard the interests of members of their unions.

Although the behaviour of unionists in South Africa may at times be controversial, the Pope—along with the Church’s preferential option for the poor—emphasises that “joining a union is a right”, for it is a means by which the basic rights of workers are promoted against the abuses that often are meted out by employers. While Pope Francis calls for increases in solidarity between workers, he also challenges trade unions to embrace their prophetic call to be collaborators with the People of God in the advancement of the rights of workers. In a meeting with the Italian General Confederation of Labour (CGIL), the Pope (2022) highlighted labour concerns he considered as worthy of union uptake: safety in the workplace and the exploitation of workers. Rightly, he also reminded the unions that their membership should not be taken for granted because they exist to work on behalf of workers: “[t]here is no trade union without workers, and there are no free workers without trade unions.”

Employer and employee must see to it that they
contribute to the good of all, most especially
to the most marginalised in society

The Church’s teachings on labour do not follow the socialist line of thinking, dividing the ownership and the activity of labour and consequently pitting the two against each other. Following her usual methodology, the Church follows the middle path, that is, the route between divergent positions. In considering labour, it is neither the employer nor the worker who is favoured. Both have their obligations and their rights. If both wish to conceive of work in the manner in which the Church does, both employer and employee must see to it that they contribute to the good of all, most especially to the most marginalised
in society—the anawim (Lk 1: 46–55)—for whom God’s people must ever prefer to contribute.

SPECIAL REPORT • DIGITAL ERA

TECHNOLOGICAL SKILLS FOR TODAY’S LABOUR MARKET

More and more necessary in the working world, new technological knowledge and skills need to go hand in hand with human aptitudes such as solidarity, common sense, creativity and communication

BY JESÚS VARGAS | IT BUSINESS MANAGER, MADRID
ALEJANDRO DE CELIS | CYBER-SECURITY SENIOR MANAGER, JOHANNESBURG

TODAY’S LABOUR market barely resembles the one our parents knew.
The digitalization of everyday life has favoured a drastic and almost
instantaneous assimilation of advances. Common routines such as the printing and delivery of Curriculum Vitae (CV) tend to disappear for the vast majority of sectors and associated jobs, giving way to job portals. Who has not prepared a CV in a well-known word processor, generated a PDF document and sent it via e-mail?

What not so long ago was associated with specific professional profiles has nowadays been incorporated into what is recommended and, in many cases, necessary: technological skills. From the businessman’s perspective, technological changes increase the productivity and competitiveness of businesses, as one can optimize resources and contemplate new work models that were previously unthinkable due to the limitations of technology.

Knowledge and skills vary depending on the position, sector and speciality but, in general, it is expected that a young person in 2023, regardless of their geographic location, will be able to make use of a computer or similar, with all that it offers at the end-user level, and be able to interact with others, utilizing powered telecommunication tools, well known by many as a result of COVID-19 and the resultant instant change into a teleworking model.

ChatGPT

At the end of November 2022, the world discovered a technological tool destined to change the global labour market forever. The Internet, social networks and the press began to fill with news about ChatGPT, a Chatbot (conversational robot) that works with Artificial Intelligence (AI) and is capable of answering any type of question with a logical meaning and formulating human conversation following the storyline. In less than two months since its launch, ChatGPT has broken the record in the growth of registered users in consumer applications or apps, with 100 million users. To give us an idea of the magnitude of the implications, this tool could have written this article without the reader realizing it because AI is called to imitate human intelligence in its entire splendour, with all that this entails, on an ethical, human, social and labour level.

Telework and new technologies

Everything is changing very fast; the Covid-19 pandemic altered the way we work in many ways. Overnight, companies and workers had to change their work strategies and routines due to the confinements. Employees began to set up home offices without understanding the impact this would have on professional relationships and on their lives. The digital transformation or integration of digital operations in our daily lives became unavoidable.

Since then, the technology sector has grown exponentially. We began to hear terms such as crypto-currencies or digital currencies, Blockchain and Metaverse (virtual world), which caused waves of hiring in the labour market in which many companies such as Facebook, Google and Amazon launched a search for professionals with the best skills. It was the beginning of the race in developing the technologies of the future and no company wanted to be left behind.

So, what are the technological skills that companies are looking for, and
how can young people prepare themselves to enter a constantly changing labour market?

To understand the current labour market, we must distinguish between
generic digital users or those who have had to adapt to the digital market, and native digital users, who were born into a digitized ecosystem.

Generic and native digital users

Digital users had to adapt to a labour market in which computers and the Internet appeared, changing the way of working that existed until the end of the 20th century. Nowadays, any employee who requires a digital device to perform his/her professional activity must, at least, know and use Information Technology (IT) tools such as a digital device, whether a desktop computer, laptop, smartphone or tablet and know its basic operation. To know how to make use of Word processors, spreadsheets and presentation programs; digital document processors; electronic messaging tools; communication tools, video calling and instant messaging, exponentially boosted during and after the pandemic; Internet research tools; social networks; and to know how to creat a professional profile are also important skills.

In addition, we can see that a digital user needs a certain level of awareness of cyber-security. This field has ceased to be solely and exclusively for IT technicians to whom one turns when something does not work as it should. Regardless of the investment made, without proper training and awareness of their staff, organizations will continue to assume too high a risk. Knowing how to differentiate legitimate emails from potential fraud, understanding why security measures, both physical and logical, are in place in each organization and the consequences of bad practice, in many cases accidental, are the basis of cyber-security training.

Coding or computer programming

Everything seems to indicate that the world will be governed intellectually by those who know how to program, develop and understand code. Even more importance will be given to those who know how to explain simply what they want to create. Low-code platforms are designed for those who, without having computer skills, want to create, develop and maintain applications on the most varied devices and digital media, in the most efficient way possible—automatically.

Data analytics

In the 1990s, industrial companies dominated the world. With the advent of the internet and then smartphones, data became the new king. Young people need to learn to analyse and understand data with a view to working with large blocks of information and create meaningful reports and graphs which provide value.

Data can be used to drive economic growth and improve people’s quality of life, but it must also be managed responsibly to avoid misuse. Ethics, therefore, goes hand in hand with this new technological age and professionals are needed who, in addition to their analytical talent, bring rigour and common sense to this new era of misinformation.

Cyber-security

This field has acquired great importance and relevance in recent years as a result of the globalization of cybercrime. It would be extensive to detail all the technological knowledge that today’s cyber-security requires, but it is worth noting that it is no longer only the IT field that requires it.

The digital era and hyper-connectivity have given rise to the Internet of Things (IoT). Likewise, Operational Technology (OT) environments have joined digitization and remote connection. All this has contributed to the expansion of the technological knowledge and skills which cyber-security workers must possess to perform their job.

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

ChatGPT is just the beginning of the AI era. It has taken the entire spotlight but in the shadows, applications with AI functionalities are being born which are flooding the internet and are coming to make our lives easier; or to replace us? As in every era, technological advances have destroyed jobs but also created new ones. The way these applications operate, give us clues that, as we said with programming, those who know how to understand and in this case manage AI in a simple way, will have great power, which also comes with great responsibility.

Skills in augmented reality

In 2018, the movie Ready player one, a science fiction film directed by Steven Spielberg, was released. The plot focuses on a virtual reality game called OASIS, in which users can interact in that world and compete for a cash prize and the inheritance of its creator.

How do we interact or become part of this virtual world? Augmented Reality (AR) plays a fundamental role, as it is used by the characters to interact with the virtual world of OASIS and see and experience virtual elements in the real world, which allows for a very realistic game experience.

Putting on AR glasses and immersing ourselves in a video game as if it were real life is a given. For this, skills such as knowledge of hardware, 3D design and user experience are essential, along with creativity and communication skills to generate immersive experiences close to reality.

Social media and digital marketing skills

Are we becoming asocial, or is the way we communicate changing? The reality is that human beings are social beings. The way we communicate is changing and with it our habits, the way we consume and the ways we relate to each other. Social networks are no longer so social. We no longer follow what our friends do. We see and consume what others do, who with a lot of creativity and innovative communication, turn products or services into viral social movements.

Social networks are therefore now entertainment networks. Some such as Tik-Tok, Instagram and Facebook currently stand out for the promotion of products and services, which go viral as their photos or videos have more views. This change of concept has led to an increase in the use of digital marketing—a set of strategies and techniques of promotion, advertising and online communication— another very important skill needed in today’s working world.

Product design and user experience skills

It is increasingly normal to see children handling smartphones better than middle-aged people. They are the socalled ‘generation Z’, those born from the year 2000 onwards who have grown up in 100% digital environments. This generation is used to this kind of environment, and skills such as digital product design and user experience are intuitive for them and at the same time fundamental.

Prototyping, user interface design, usability evaluation and continuous iteration to improve user experience are now highly demanded skills and tools such as Adobe Creative Suite, Sketch, Figma and InVision help to obtain such knowledge and skills intuitively and simply.

As we can imagine, going deeper into each of the topics discussed here would be enough for a monothematic article on the subject. However, the current technological era requires a minimum of knowledge to belong to it, regardless of the person’s age.

Skills such as solidarity, common sense, creativity
and communication are aptitudes that stand out in a great professional person

The new generations are adapted to the changes and make use of digital technology practically from birth, continuing in their daily lives as they grow up. In parallel, an additional effort is required from the older generations who, for many of them, have been overtaken by the digital revolution, creating a new type of illiterate person—the digitally illiterate.

Therefore, there is currently a digital divide at the demographic level in which young people have and will have an advantage as digital natives, but it should be noted that there is also a global divide in which many countries are ahead at the technological level, creating economic and social inequality.

Technological skills are and will be fundamental in any society to reduce
this gap and to enter the labour market, but human skills are the ones which prevail in the face of changing trends and revolutions. Skills such as solidarity, common sense, creativity and communication are aptitudes that stand out in a great professional person, and as a society, we must work to make them relevant when it comes to directing technological advances along the right path of history.