Labour standards accommodate HIV/Aids

People living with HIV/Aids also need an income The International Labour Organization (ILO) has agreed on a new International Labour Standard (the recommendation concerning HIV/Aids and the World of Work), aimed at protecting people living with HIV/Aids in the workplace. It held a series of events under the theme “Preventing HIV, Protecting human rights at work” at the 2010 AIDS Conference to mark the launch of this labour standard adopted in June by the representatives of the ILO committee of governments, employers and workers. With its constituents, the ILO focused on developing strong partnerships with the international community of donors, stakeholders implementing HIV policies and programmes, and people living with HIV to reduce stigma and discrimination for all workers living with HIV or believed to be HIV positive – to give a new impetus to prevention efforts. The ILO liaison officer Pius Udo said that if the International Labour Conference adopted the standard, “it would be the first international human rights instrument to focus specifically on HIV and the World of Work”. The recommendation sets a new milestone in the international response to the pandemic, calling for the World of Work to play an unprecedented role in preventing HIV transmission, mitigating its impacts and protecting human rights at work. The committee of governments, workers and employers convened in Geneva to discuss and agree on its content and approve the draft standard, along with a new resolution on its promotion and implementation. The proposed standard contains provisions on prevention programmes and anti-discrimination measures at national and workplace levels aimed at strengthening the contribution of HIV-positive people to work; universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support. This will shield HIV-positive people from discrimination. The resolution had invited the ILO governing body to allocate resources to give effect to the standard and requests to regular reports from member states on its implementation for review, saying that support from the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and World Health Organization would be encouraged as discussed during the talks. Sophia Kisting, director of the ILO Programme on HIV and AIDS and the World of Work, said: “Members of the HIV/Aids Committee used their experience in implementing the ILO Code of Practice on HIV and Aids to craft this landmark instrument that is real proof of the power of social dialogue. This standard will take workplace interventions to a higher level in the global response to HIV and Aids.” The chairperson of the HIV/Aids Committee Thembi Nene-Shezi said the committee “had made history” in the “crafting of this instrument, which should be a source of pride for the ILO and its constituents.” No job losses Kisting said there may be a clash between the already implemented Code of Practice on HIV/Aids, and the World of Work and the new standards if finally voted for adoption. “The ILO Code of Practice adopted in 2001 is a set of principles that enjoys a great deal of support among ILO member states, as well as UN agencies and many organisations – both within and outside the UN system. “While there is no intention to change the Code, we have experienced that there can be selective implementation of its 10 principles, and a new recommendation would strengthen the Code and create much greater harmonisation of our workplace programmes. “To this day, stigma and discrimination still means job losses, it still means a lack of access to jobs, and it still means that through fear and going too late for an HIV test that potentially a life is lost,” she added. “Through an international human rights instrument such as this proposed recommendation, we can more confidently tackle stigma and discrimination, make sure that people could access voluntary counselling and testing and be referred for treatment in time, and we can help save businesses and small enterprises and, ultimately, lives. “Now is the time for implementation, and the International AIDS Conference provides an excellent forum to launch this next phase of building stronger partnerships for the development and implementation of HIV and Aids policies and programmes in the World of Work – with an emphasis on the reduction of stigma and discrimination, the protection of human rights and greater access to prevention, treatment, care and support through the World of Work,” said Kisting. The ILO, with support from UNAIDS, hosted a Workplace Partners Forum in July, which brought together more than a hundred ILO constituents and partners to discuss the new avenues opened by the recommendation to facilitate universal access to prevention, treatment, care and support while protecting HIV-related human rights. Following the discussion, the ILO hosted a press conference to launch the implementation phase. Visit www.ilo.int for more information.