Pope Francis addressed wealth inequality during a visit to Singapore on Thursday, urging the financial hub’s government to do more to protect the poor and migrant workersincluding ensuring fair wages.
Sitting next to President Tharman Shanmugaratnam at a State Address, The Holy See said it hoped special attention would be paid to the poor and elderly who helped lay the foundations for today’s Singapore. and protect the dignity of migrant workers.
“These workers contribute a lot to society and they must be guaranteed a fair wage,” said Francis.I want to underline the risk of focusing solely on pragmatism or putting merit above all else.that is, the unintended consequence of justifying the exclusion of the marginalized from the benefits of progress.”
Wealth inequality has become a hot topic in Singapore, one of the most expensive cities in the world to live in.In response, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong has moved to introduce unemployment benefits for Singaporeans as part of a series of new or expanded social welfare programmes as he seeks to bolster the ruling party ahead of elections due in November 2025.
Singapore has no official minimum wage or living wage for workers.The island nation is the final stop on Francis’ 11-day tour, which has taken him to East Timor, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea.
The financial centre is facing a declining birth rate and an ageing population, and relies on low-wage foreign workers to meet some of its labor needsOf the just over 1.5 million foreign workers in the city-state in December, nearly half work as domestic workers or in construction, shipyards and manufacturing, government data shows.
Human rights groups have in the past criticised Singapore’s treatment of poorer migrants, most recently when workers were confined to their dormitories for much of the pandemic to prevent further spread of Covid-19.
Francis praised the measures taken by Singapore to improve the quality of life of its citizens through public policies on housing, education and quality health care. These efforts must “continue until all Singaporeans can fully benefit from them”.
