Vatican Museums Workers File Labor Complaint

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Facts

• Employees at the Vatican Museums have launched a complaint over poor working conditions that could lead to legal action being taken against Pope Francis' governorate.¹
• Forty-nine workers say that labor conditions at the Vatican Museums 'violate their dignity and do not respect the basic rights of any worker,' according to lawyer Laura Sgrò. The workers claim they work overtime hours at lower rates and endure subpar health and safety provisions.²
• The 47 custodians, an art restorer, and a bookshop employee claim that the Vatican made sick employees stay home for 24 hours to wait for a doctor to check on them and punished those who left home at any point.³
• They also say that employees are being asked to return wages paid during the COVID lockdowns and that some have been penalized for taking care of sick family members. All of this culminated in workers becoming the 'absolute asset of the manager.'⁴
• Sgrò says the Vatican has ignored years of requests to remedy various issues, and she expects more workers to join the complaint, which could become the first class-action lawsuit against the Holy See. Seven hundred people work across the Vatican Museums' 54 galleries.⁵
• The Vatican has 30 days to respond before legal proceedings begin.⁴

Sources: ¹Reuters, ²Yahoo News, ³Crux, ⁴Catholic Herald and ⁵Guardian.

Narratives

• Narrative A, as provided by Independent. This mistreatment of employees has been going on for years and contradicts Catholic teaching about social justice and respect for the dignity of workers. The workers have no choice but to pursue legal action against Pope Francis' administration, and hopefully, the Holy See will begin honoring workers' rights to prevent this lawsuit from going further.
• Narrative B, as provided by Catholic Review. Pope Francis and his close allies have consistently advocated for social justice, fair labor practices, and an end to exploitative economic structures. The Holy See continues to fight for the dignity of all workers, and that includes the employees who work in Vatican City. It should be easy to resolve this legal matter if the workers' claims are legitimate.

Predictions