Vatican Labour Office: We work so that employees’ rights are never violated

By Salvatore Cernuzio

The guiding principles of the work carried out by the Labour Office of the Apostolic See (ULSA), in its relationship with Vatican employees and with entities and Dicasteries of the Holy See, are dialogue, listening, and collaboration, rather than conflict, competition, and grievances.

ULSA is an office that has “always open doors,” as its president, Monsignor Marco Sprizzi, explains in an interview with Vatican News.

He also comments on and provides clarifications regarding the recent survey by the ADLV (Association of Vatican Lay Employees), in which about 250 out of more than 6,000 employees—including retirees—denounce situations of discontent, injustice, and lack of trust within the Vatican working community.

Q: The Pope approved the new Statute of the ULSA last December, which highlights his attention to the world of work. What does this new Statute mean for those who work in the Vatican today, and what changes has it brought so far?

It is certainly a sign of the Holy Father’s great attention to the application of the Social Doctrine of the Church within the Holy See and with regard to all employees of the Roman Curia, the connected Entities, the Vatican Governorate, and the Vicariate of Rome.

The changes introduced are important; I will not list them all, but I would like to emphasize that the representativeness and mission of the Labour Office have been further strengthened as a mission of unity and promotion, in line with John Paul II's vision and that of subsequent Popes.

Unity means rowing in the same direction, feeling co-responsible, and sharing in the mission of the Holy See. This in no way means diminishing workers’ protections, but rather promoting and pursuing them in a spirit of dialogue and mutual trust.

Q: A recent survey conducted by the ADLV reveals a climate of dissatisfaction and reports of inadequate behaviour in Vatican workplaces. How do you comment on this?

I too have taken note of the survey. Technically, it is a survey conducted on a very small sample, since it involves less than 5% of employees. In any case, we take all voices seriously, even if it were the voice of just one employee who complained of a lack of attention, dialogue, or respect for the rules.

The doors of the Labour Office are always open, because we are, as John Paul II said, a structure of dialogue and therefore ready to listen to everyone.

We work to ensure that there are no situations in which employees’ rights are disregarded or violated in any way. At the same time we are strongly committed to training, to promote awareness of participating in one mission and to improve skills.

Therefore, we look at the survey with seriousness and respect. With the ADLV we have—as they themselves state—constructive and frequent dialogue, and we take all reports seriously.

Our task is to examine them and assess them in the light of the law and the Social Doctrine of the Church, and to integrate them into dialogue with the administrations concerned. This includes also through the creation of technical working groups and ad hoc commissions, in order to explore possible solutions in the interest of everyone, meaning employees, but also the Holy See, which cannot accept having situations of inequity or injustice within it.

We therefore welcome these results and we want to verify them on the level of individual concrete cases and with improvements to regulations. We take this mission seriously, as it challenges our conscience as Christians and as priests. The ADLV knows this well.

Q: Seventy-one percent of respondents indicated the ADLV as their point of reference in the event of work-related problems, compared to 10% who would turn to the ULSA. Is this a real figure?

We receive dozens of cases every day; employees constantly turn to us, as do the administrations. Thank God, we are not short of work.

I read in the Association’s statement that about 80% of those who responded to the survey are members of the ADLV, while only 71% of these would turn to the ADLV, so in reality not even all members would first turn to their own Association.

However, we do not approach this from a competitive perspective. The ADLV plays an important and constructive role, and we encourage and promote it, and thank it for what it does.

We will continue to welcome and support all needs, requests, and demands, in the light of the norms and of the Social Doctrine, if they are deemed appropriate and responsive to requirements of justice.

I would also like to add that heads of Dicasteries, those responsible for the Governorate, and all those to whom we present these requests are sensitive and open to dialogue. We have also set up technical working groups that brought together the leadership of the relevant Dicastery with representatives of the ADLV here at our offices, with our mediation.

We will continue along this path of dialogue and of a common search for possible and just solutions. We must move forward along this path.

The path of confrontation and conflict is excluded from the Popes' vision and from the missionary approach of the Holy See. Those who work for the Holy See embrace a mission: there is no room for conflict, but rather we are like an orchestra in which each instrument must play according to its own characteristics.

The voice of employees can and must contribute to composing a piece of music, a harmony, in which their concerns find respectful listening and a response. This is our daily mission. Even if sometimes the methods differ, I see on everyone’s part an effort to provide answers.

It is also true that those who control the accounts and assess economic sustainability sometimes give answers that may slow down the path toward solutions. This is part of the rules of the game: those who oversee finances sometimes set “limits.” This, however, must not stop us, but rather encourage us to find creative solutions, including for the procurement of funds.

Q: Where, then, does the discontent mentioned in the survey come from?

I do not believe, based on the experience gained in the many meetings with employees, that this is a generalized discontent. I believe the prevailing sentiment is rather positive.

Let us not forget that while throughout the world and in Italy, both in public and private sectors, when the Covid-19 pandemic broke out many people lost their jobs, in the Holy See, even while scraping the bottom of the barrel, no one was dismissed and no one saw their salary reduced.

Employees know this and feel gratitude above all to Pope Francis, who worked to ensure that the impact of the pandemic, which greatly reduced the Holy See’s financial resources, did not fall on them.

There are also many other small, everyday things: the nursery, the summer camp, the reopening of the Annona supermarket, Pope Leo XIV’s recent rescripts on real accessibility for people with disabilities in the working community, attention to retirement (even though resources are sometimes not so abundant), and the strengthening of an almost free healthcare system.

Many things, in short, for which many people want to work in the Vatican, because one can see that the treatment is good. I therefore do not believe that there is, in general, discontent, but we do acknowledge that there are issues that absolutely need attention and improvement.

For example, the adjustment of salary levels to the duties actually performed. In some cases, due to previous situations, or to the freeze on resources, or in order not to cause anyone to lose their job, the necessary adjustments were not made. Work is underway to ensure justice for those who are entitled to it.

Q: There is also mention of mobbing…

Personally, I am not aware of any cases of mobbing. There are certainly legal protections in place to report and appeal against measures that harm rights.

If there are cases of mobbing or abuse, they must certainly be reported, because the requirements of moral justice in the world of work have been a priority since Leo XIII’s Rerum Novarum.

One thing, however, is rumours, and another is verifying the truth. Certainly, if there were cases of abuse, even below the threshold of actual mobbing, the Holy Father would be the first to intervene to ensure that this does not happen; it cannot and must not happen.

Q: The same survey nevertheless highlights some positive signs, such as the opening of a shared path of dialogue…

That is what I was referring to earlier. We are encouraged by the Popes to promote a spirit of community and unity, what today we would call “synodality,” within the entire Church and in particular within the Apostolic See.

Within the limits of what is possible, we are committed to increasingly fostering dialogue with employees, both individually and through their associations, and with all entities that employ staff. We also strive to act as a bridge so that this dialogue between workers and administrations is ever more constructive and serene, grounded in the light of the Gospel and the Social Magisterium of the Church, in a spirit of ecclesial communion and with respect for workers’ rights.