Winter 2019
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Christian Ethics & The Future of Work: Winter 2019 | Volume 108

The Winter 2019 issue of Studies looks at the impact that the gig economy and other factors have on our attitudes and shifting priorities regarding the nature and future of human work – have we abandoned the dignity and integrity of the worker to the incessant demands of the marketplace?
Contents
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Catholic Social Teaching and Freedom of Association in Ireland
Gerry Whyte
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In this paper, I wish to review the legal position of trade unions and their members under the Irish Constitution in light of Catholic Social Teaching on what the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church (hereafter ‘the Compendium’) refers to as ‘the ever urgent worker question,
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Catholic Social Teaching and the Gig Economy: Engaging Labour Law and the Desert Fathers
Cathleen Kaveny
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Catholic Social Teaching has not only consistently emphasised the dignity of work, it has also tirelessly defended the intrinsic value of the worker. In Rerum novarum (1891), Pope Leo XIII admonished wealthy owners and employers ‘not to look upon their work people as their bondsmen, but to respect in every man his dignity as a person ennobled by Christian character’.
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Concluding Observations
David Begg
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I propose to offer some observations on the themes raised in the other papers, based on my own experience as a labour market practitioner over many years. Christian ethics has never been an abstract concept in industrial relations in Ireland.
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Don’t Mention It: The Unacknowledged Tie between Religion and Labour Law
Thomas C Kohler
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The unacknowledged tie between religion and labour law? How can that even constitute a topic? Everyone knows that wherever one looks, whether in civil or in common law systems, labour law arose in the early twentieth century.
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Just Work? Catholic & Feminist Perspectives on Labour and Livelihood
Christine Firer Hinze
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This brief essay is premised on two convictions. The first is that modern
Catholic Social Teaching and thought, though it has many limits, provides
a contemporary, Gospel- and tradition-based understanding of human
flourishing, a specific orientation toward people and institutions, and a
set of moral principles or base-points.
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Justice, Dignity, and Reward: Nurturing Relationships in the Gig Economy
Calum Samuelson
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The Bible has a great deal to say about workers and work, but, due to considerable cultural and economic differences, it can be difficult to apply biblical wisdom to the complex landscape of modern work.
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Precarious Work Leads to Precarious Lives: the Irish Experience and Policy Responses
Sinéad Pembroke
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Paid work is an aspiration for many people. Many of us are thankful to have it, and it forms an integral part of our identity; often one of the first questions we ask a person is ‘what do you do for a living?’
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Prioritising McDonalds: The Gift of Work and Catholic Social Teaching
Kevin Hargaden
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As a teenager, my wife had a friend who worked part-time at a local McDonalds. The roster was drawn up without reference to the fact that she was preparing to sit her Leaving Certificate exams.
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The Future of EU Labour Law: Insights from Christian Ethics
Mark Bell
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This article focuses upon the discreet question of what role, if any, there might be for Christian ethics in shaping the future direction of EU labour law.
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The Future of Work after Laudato si’
Martin Maier SJ
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The encyclical Laudato Si’ of Pope Francis is a document that is both dramatic and hopeful. Dramatic because it leaves the reader in no doubt that the prevailing global system, with its reckless exploitation of natural resources and dangerous climate change, is heading for catastrophe.