Welcome to CWS
The Church People – Workers Solidarity (CWS) is a non -profit organization. It is an ecumenical body composed of bishops, clergy, the religious men and women, lay leaders and workers that shall spearhead in harnessing the church people’s initiatives towards solidarity with the workers. It shall further engage in activities that truly reflect the oneness of the church with the workers’ life and aspirations.
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The Church People – Workers Solidarity (CWS) is a non -profit organization. It is an ecumenical body composed of bishops, clergy, the religious men and women, lay leaders and workers that shall spearhead in harnessing the church people’s initiatives towards solidarity with the workers. It shall further engage in activities that truly reflect the oneness of the church with the workers’ life and aspirations.
Read more........
How it all StartedThe Situation
Our Response There is a very urgent need to respond to the situation of the workers. They are not only made poor; their basic labor rights are also violated. These human rights are embodied in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and promoted by the Church’s Social Teachings. It is imperative for church people to raise their prophetic voice and be “defenders of unrecognized and violated rights, especially those of the poor, the least, the weak” (Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, [CSDC], 81). Historically, in whatever Christian faith tradition, church people have always been an integral part in the struggle of the laboring people for a more just society. Journeying with the workers is a concrete expression of our Christian faith. Throughout Philippine history, from the Cavite Mutiny of 1872, to the La Tondeña strike in 1975, the Hacienda Luisita strike in 2004, workers were able to assert their rights through their unified associations and concerted actions; with the support of different sectors, especially church people. In these struggles, some workers and church people even paid dearly with their lives. Our solidarity with our marginalized brothers and sisters, the workers, is a Gospel imperative. The supreme commandment to love God and our neighbor binds us to “the commitment to justice and solidarity, to the building up of a social, economic and political life that corresponds to God’s plan” (CSDC, 40). The Church needs to journey with the weak and harassed labor, and heed the teachings of Pope Leo XIII in his encyclical Rerum Novarum (On the Condition of Labor). He calls on us to support the workers' rights to organize themselves into associations, to seek just wages and better working conditions. On September 14, 2011, was the 30th anniversary of Blessed John Paul II’s Laborem Exercens. A most fitting way of commemorating it and as our response to the urgent situation of our workers, a Church People and Workers Conference was held on September 12 to 15, 2011 in Cebu City. This important event lead to the establishment of the Church People Workers Solidarity. One Voice (Official Publication) |
InvitationUrgent Appeal from the Sumifru WorkersRecent ActivityMeeting with Bishop Gerardo Alminaza
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