Archdiocese of Perth Chief Operations Officer Dr Terry Wilson is the editor of a new handbook for Catholic employers and employees, published by the Australian Catholic Council for Employment Relations (ACCER).
The handbook, entitled Good Works: the Catholic Church as an employer in Australia, was launched this week by the Australian Catholic Bishops Delegate for Employment Relations, Bishop Les Tomlinson, during the bishops’ plenary meeting at Mary MacKillop Place, North Sydney.
The Catholic Church is one of Australia’s largest employers, with over 180,000 employees spread across a range of dioceses, congregations and agencies, employing two per cent of the Australian workforce.
The book includes a section about the importance of work, work-life balance, the principles underpinning the Church’s social teaching on work, and the employment relationship.
It also details previous encyclicals about work.
Pope St John Paul II stated in Laborem Exercens, “The basis for determining the value of work is not primarily the work being done but the fact that the one doing it is a person”.
Bishop Tomlinson said that workers in Catholic employment cannot merely be regarded as resources for delivering outcomes.
“Catholic organisations should particularly acknowledge and manifest the Church’s teachings on work and employment,” Bishop Tomlinson said.
“The theology of work underpins Catholic social teaching on the mutual obligations of workers and employers,” he said.
“The book is a valuable resource because it articulates the mission and values of Catholic employment and provides practical advice about how good employment relations can be achieved,” he added.
Bishop Tomlinson thanked ACCER for publishing the book and congratulated the editor, Dr Terry Wilson, for the quality of the publication.
For more information, or for a copy of the book, contact the ACCER on 03 9934 3355.