“We can be proud of the Austrian welfare state. Instead of complaining about its shortcomings, we ought to continue to develop it”, said the bishop of the diocese of Linz, the Right Rev. Ludwig Schwarz. The bishop was speaking in Linz in recent days at a meeting organized by trades unions, workers’ associations and the Church on “Solidarity in the age of precariousness”, held in the seminary of the Austrian city. Bishop Schwarz recalled the social responsibility of firms for the common good and warned: “in spite of all our understanding for the often difficult situation of firms, we wish nonetheless to underline their responsibility towards those who are the first to make economic success possible, namely the workers”. Schwarz asked for “greater responsibility on the part of those who are currently achieving the greatest profits”. For his part, the chairman of the workers’ association of Upper Austria, Johann Kalliauer, hoped for the introduction of a “sufficient minimum wage”. “The fact that firms achieve high profits while the wages of their workforce remain the same for years is unacceptable”, he said. Kalliauer praised “the good and long-standing collaboration between Church and workers’ organizations”, recalling their common commitment to particular objectives, such as the maintenance of Sunday as a rest day. The diocese of Linz is actively involved in supporting workers in the territory with nine branch offices of “mensch&arbeit” (“person and work”), where assistance is given and solidarity promoted on the basis of Christian faith.
