Agree to Differ

[

] 161

Engaging religious traditions in the

promotion of peace through social justice

Pierre Martinot-Lagarde, Special Advisor for Socioreligious Affairs, International Labour Organization

abour is not a commodity’, ‘decent work’, ‘peace

through social justice’ – these three mottoes

can provide some insights on why and how the

International Labour Organization (ILO) has engaged and

is now engaging with faith-based organizations. Such an

approach may be surprising for an organization whose

focus is on labour, and through labour on the economy.

Labour, however, is part of the lives of many individuals, from

childhood to retirement. It helps foster human relationships

and communities. Many religious traditions and groups have

addressed labour issues in their thinking and ethical commit-

ment. Dignity and solidarity, two values central to the decent

work agenda, enjoy a wide interreligious consensus. On the

same line, many traditions have also aimed at providing jobs

and social protection to their followers and beyond. To help

overcome social instability and provide greater social cohe-

sion, the ILO has explored in the context of Egypt how

interreligious cooperation can help in ensuring better access

to employment for youth. This also connects to the intui-

tion present at the foundation of the ILO and enshrined in its

constitution: ‘there shall not be peace without social justice’.

Labour is not a commodity

If labour is not a commodity, what is it? Labour is not a good,

labour is a not a merchandise, it cannot be exchanged or sold.

A negative definition sometimes tells more than a positive

one. The essential dimension of labour, the relational one,

makes it distinct, different from a good.

There is no labour without persons, individuals, communi-

ties, even societies. Labour is generated by people. They act,

sometimes they do, they repeat, they reproduce. A few times

they invent; in many instances we would love to understand

work as creation. More often, they transform something,

some raw material – coal, steel, plastics – into manufactured

goods. In many parts of the world, when people work, they

Image: ILO

Labour is part of the lives of many individuals, from childhood to retirement

gree

iffer