SINGAPORE — Pope Francis on Thursday made a plea for migrant workers to be paid fairly, 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, civil groups 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 Labor Organization. Most live in Europe, Central Asia and the Americas. But cheap labor has been instrumental in the rapid development of gleaming metropolises such as Dubai, Doha and Singapore. About 300,000 low-wage migrant workers are estimated to toil in Singapore. Pope Francis meets with Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (right) at the Parliament House in Singapore on September 12, 2024. AFP PHOTO Advocates say they lack adequate protection against exploitation and sometimes endure poor living conditions, something 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. The pope did not make any specific reference to workers in Singapore, but his comments are likely to make the government uneasy. The Argentine pontiff was otherwise glowing about his hosts, praising the entrepreneurial spirit, human ingenuity and dynamism that built a "mass of ultra-modern skyscrapers that seem to rise from the sea." "Singapore is a mosaic of ethnicities, cultures and religions living together in harmony," he said, painting the population of almost six million as a shining light for the world. "I encourage you to continue to work in favour of the unity and fraternity of humanity and the common good of all peoples and all nations," he said. About 30 percent of Singaporeans are Buddhist, 20 percent have no religion and the rest are a mix of Catholic, Protestant, Taoist and Hindu. Singapore is the last stop on the pope's 12-day, four-nation Asia-Pacific trip aimed at boosting the Catholic Church's standing in the world's most populous region.
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