Pope Francis made a plea for migrant workers to be paid fairly on Thursday, as he visited the affluent city-state of Singapore on the last stop of his marathon Asia-Pacific tour. The 87-year-old pope said "special attention" should be paid to "protecting the dignity of migrant workers", in an address to local political leaders and dignitaries. "These workers contribute a great deal to society and should be guaranteed a fair wage," he said. There are an estimated 170 million migrant workers around the world -- about five percent of the global workforce -- according to the International Labour Organization. Most live in the Americas, Europe and Central Asia. But cheap labour has been instrumental in the rapid growth of gleaming metropolises such as Dubai, Doha and Singapore. About 300,000 low-wage migrant workers are estimated to work in Singapore.

Advocates say they lack adequate protection against exploitation and sometimes endure poor living conditions, charges the government denies. The issue shot to the fore during the Covid-19 pandemic, when tens of thousands of migrant workers were forcibly locked down in dormitories. Many migrants in Singapore come from South Asia and from the Philippines, which has a large and notably devout Catholic majority. "I'm so happy that the pope has chosen to speak on this topic," a 34-year-old Filipino domestic helper told reporter. "Even if they don't raise my salary, I'm still happy to know that the pope himself is fighting and praying for us" she said. The woman said she earned $460 a month, in a nation where the median gross income is $3,985, according to Ministry for Manpower statistics for 2023. Another South Indian worker welcomed the pope's comments, but said he was happy after five years in the city state. "Yes, the work is very hard and a higher salary would be better but I'm happy."

Credit: Independent News Pakistan