Some name the 1st May “Labour Day” while others “Workers Day.” Some name it both and others one of the two but putting the other in brackets! Which is right? Whichever name or names one gives this day, what is at stake are both the worker and the work. It is the issue of the dignity and value of the human person as well as the dignity and value of human labour for the individual and society.
This day and month could be an opportunity for ecumenical and interreligious mutual awareness on this issue trying to discover the ‘St. Josephs’ of other Churches, religions and even of those who do not believe in God. The Encyclical of St. John Paul II ‘Laborem Exercens’ (On Human Work) could offer us some food for thought in this exercise.
When we look around us and look at the statistics vis-à-vis the youth and employment-unemployment, we cannot remain indifferent. The figures of unemployment are so worrying that some speak about it as a ‘ticking time bomb’! How are we handling this ‘bomb’ in our respective areas?
Nnyombi Richard, M. Afr. Bulletin in English Bulletin en Français
