36 ‘Building Blocks’ to better integrate Christian Social values into the work of trade unions – Lessons from the pandemic
t seems to be dawning on more and more people in Europe and around the globe that the world of the 21st century is not what it was when we were children. And worse, nor will it ever be the same. The increasingly rampant crises appear to be becoming not exceptions, but almost our ‘new normal’.
There are ever increasing attempts to characterise our present and, most importantly, our future. There is talk of the digital age, of globalisation rendering the world a village, and of artificial intelligence or virtual realities… What remains is the realisation that every description creates only a new confusion.
And yet our lives go on. Even at the beginning of the third millennium, trade unions and other workers’ organisations persevere in representing the interests of their members, fighting for the rights of workers and creating a balance through negotiations in social dialogue, secured by collective agreement.
The European Centre for Workers’ Questions (EZA) conducts numerous seminars throughout Europe every year, strengthening social dialogue as a fundamental component of the European Pillar of Social Rights as well as the capacity of member organisations to act. A network has been established across Europe over the past 35 years.
All the member organisations of EZA share their self description as being independent of political parties and oriented around values. The common ‘cornerstone of values’ on which trade unions and other workers’ organisations stand as members of EZA is their orientation towards the Christliche Soziallehre (Christian Social teaching) – although the articulation and expression of this differs widely in the individual countries.
During an EZA seminar in Spain in spring 2022, it was noted that Christian Social values sounds old-fashioned, in two respects. Firstly, international competition – now affecting us all due to the globalisation of the econo-my – is primarily about competition and competitiveness. It seems that the credo of the 21st century is that anyone invoking values has already lost. Secondly, trade unions are only supposed to represent the interests of their members, and Weltanschauungen or religions, such as Christianity, are deemed a ‘private matter’ that has no role in the modern workplace.
Many EZA affiliates, including Krifa (Kristelig Fagbevægelse) and WOW (World Organisation of Workers), have spoken out decisively against such a view of the world, stating: “Trade unions are motivated and inspired by their values. These form the basic framework of their structures. Having specific values is motivating and reinforces their activities. It has become increasingly clear in recent decades that it is very challenging for trade unions to adapt their activities and strategies to these values.” (Valencia, 2022)
The intention of this EZA pamphlet is to describe our Christian Social values not only in theory, but also to encourage trade union practice in which actions coincide with values, and are truly acted upon. The text follows the ‘SEE – JUDGE – ACT’ method as developed and practised by Joseph Cardijn, Belgian priest of the workers and later Cardinal in the 20th century.
The focus here has consciously been on short texts which, as ‘building blocks’, form a continual invitation to take part, to understand one element or other as a ‘tool’ and to assist in its construction. In a dossier on the subject of Baustelle: Soziallehre (Social Doctrine as a work in progress) the then director of the Catholic Social Academy of Austria, Father Alois Riedlsperger, wrote: “More than ever, we are becoming aware that our one world is our site of the future – and the question therein is whether we can succeed in building a world habitable for all”.
