Pope Leo XIV praised the "indispensable" role played by trade unions in a speech Monday in Argentina, where President Javier Milei has curtailed the right to strike.
"Trade unions are indispensable institutions when they defend those who have no voice and resist the commodification of labour," he told a group of business leaders, workers and union members.
"When economic profit is established as the sole criterion of success, a business becomes dehumanised," he warned.
The unions have a vital role to play "to ensure that dignified working conditions are upheld," Leo said.
Leo, who was elected last year, has made workers' rights a key pillar of his papacy.
The Confederación General del Trabajo (General Confederation of Labor, CGT) – Argentina's main trade union umbrella organisation – has called for four general strikes since Milei took office in December 2023.
Unions have been particularly angered by Milei's labour reforms, which were adopted in February.
As well as granting employers greater flexibility in matters of hiring and firing, it limits the right to strike and weakens the unions' bargaining power.
Milei was elected on a pledge to revive the economy by slashing public spending, but the austerity measures imposed by his government have been deeply unpopular.
Since he came to office, around 270,000 private-sector jobs and 81,000 public-sector positions have been scrapped, while the unemployment rate has risen to 7.9 percent – its highest level since 2021.
"To deprive a person of work is not simply to deny that person an income," Leo said.
"It severely wounds their dignity, deprives them of the ability to contribute to society and plunges them into social exclusion," he warned.
The 71-year-old head of the Catholic Church said the unions must help precarious workers in particular.
Around 45 percent of workers in Argentina are in informal jobs, lacking pension contributions and formal labor protections.
– TIMES/AFP
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