The Union of Professional Educators (UPE) extends its heartfelt congratulations on the election of His Holiness Pope Leo XIV. UPE joins countless others around the world in celebrating this historic moment in the hope of a pontificate dedicated to the advancement of workers’ rights.
UPE takes special note of Pope Leo XIV’s rational for his choice of regnal name in renewal of Pope Leo XIII’s seminal encyclical Rerum Novarum (1891). This foundational document of Catholic social teaching on the rights and dignity of workers remains as urgent today as it was over a century ago.
The new pontiff’s emphasis on Rerum Novarum signals a renewed commitment to the freedom of association, especially workers’ rights to form and join trade unions for the protection of their legitimate interests. UPE welcomes this direction and expresses its hope that this pontificate will bring meaningful moral leadership towards the actualization of these rights. The UPE derives great courage in the knowledge that its driving values are embraced by the newly elected pontiff.
In Malta, outdated restrictions on the freedom of association of workers and trade union rights persist with the connivance of political and bureaucratic actors. It is our sincere hope that Pope Leo XIV’s voice will resonate with support to Maltese workers who still face all sorts of obstacles, intimidation, discrimination and retaliation – even by the state – due to their trade unionistic affiliation.
Workers should not be punished for asserting and exercising their fundamental rights! UPE looks forward to a pontificate that actively advocates for workers’ freedom to pursue the protection of the trade unions of their choice, free from political interference and state-sanctioned retributions. UPE augurs that Leo XIV’s pontificate will herald workers’ rights into the 21st century—particularly in countries like Malta where such rights have remained elusive as ever before. UPE renews its pledge to continue its struggle for freedom of association. FOA, now more than ever, is a powerful as an antidote to all forms of collusions undermining workers’ rights and the social fabric.
