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30 International THE DAILY HERALD, Thursday, March 16, 2017

VATICAN CITY--Manag- Addressing tens of thou- clear that he was concerned thus be able to walk with
ers who close businesses, sands of people in St Peter’s about the problem in many their heads held high, to
shut factories or restructure Square for his weekly audi- countries. look other people in the
firms without fully consid- ence, Francis strayed from “Work gives us dignity. face with dignity,” the pope
ering the impact on work- his text after mentioning Those who are responsible said.
ers and their families are he was worried about how for people, managers, are “Those who, for eco-
committing a “very grave families might be affected obliged to do everything nomic schemes or in or-
sin”, Pope Francis said on by a labour dispute at TV so that every woman and der to make deals that are
Wednesday. network Sky Italia, making every man can work and not fully transparent, close
factories, shut down enter-
prises and take work away
from people, that person
commits a very grave sin,” Pope Francis talks during his Wednesday general audience,
he said. in Saint Peter’s Square, at the Vatican on Wednesday.
Francis has strongly de-
fended the rights of work- strikes by employees op- failure to fend off low-
ers since becoming leader posed to its plan to move cost competition is widely
of the world’s 1.2 billion most of its operations to blamed on decades of poor
Roman Catholics four Milan from Rome, which management.
years ago. Like other coun- unions say could lead to The spectre of job losses
tries around the world, hundreds of job cuts and in these and other cases
Italy has seen companies forced transfers. has been exacerbated by
and factories close as pro- In another case that has the fear of long-term un-
duction is moved abroad dominated Italian news- employment for those af-
to take advantage of lower papers, up to 2,000 people fected. Italy’s jobless rate
labour costs or as a result of may lose their jobs in re- stands at about 12 percent
restructuring and mergers. structuring at loss-making and youth unemployment is
Sky Italia has been hit by airline Alitalia, whose close to 40 percent.