Health & Labour
African unions demand 'zero tolerance' for discrimination facing HIV positives 

Participants at the conference which is organised by the Brussels-based International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) and its African regional organisation (AFRO), vowed to make the inclusion of “protective clauses” a top priority in collective bargaining with employers.

Unfair dismissals, pre-employment mandatory tests, harassment, lack of confidentiality, denial of promotion and training are among the abuses suffered by HIV positive workers, according to trade unionists.

Their findings were supported by representatives of UN’s International Labour Organisation (ILO) who take part at the Gaborone conference. “Discrimination is rife and is documented. Yet what we know is only the tip of the iceberg. Workers want to denounce discrimination, but at the same time they still fear to come out, as stigmas still surround the disease”, said Franklyn Lisk, a senior ILO official.

Among the cases cited by trade unions was the pre-employment, mandatory testing of crew members by the South African Airways. An opposite example was however given to the conference by the Human Resources Manager of Ford Motor Company, Johan Strijdom, who described the plan implemented by the company in partnership with South African trade unions and aimed at combating AIDS at the workplace. “Confidentiality is a rule, and workers can freely be tested at the company’s clinic in confidence”, Mr Strijdom told the audience. The Ford plan is based on “zero tolerance” for discrimination, harassment and victimisation which is what trade unionists in Gaborone made their next target in collective bargaining with employers.

Protective clauses in collective agreement should be based on relevant Conventions of the ILO including Convention 111 that forbids any sort of discrimination in employment or Convention 159 on vocational training. “Denial of vocational training is a recurring abuse faced by HIV positive workers, explained ILO's Franklyn Lisk, employers tend not to invest in people they expect will be sick”.

Breaking the wall of silence is one of the purpose of the conference which will conclude its work tomorrow in Gaborone by the adoption of a plan of action aimed a mobilising trade unions throughout the continent.

Source: ICFTU

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