ICEM HIV/AIDS e-bulletin - No. 66, March 2011

In this issue of the ICEM HIV/AIDS newsletter, we report on the HIV/AIDS workshop in India, on the new and ambitious targets of the Global Fund, and on two cases of job-related discrimination on the basis of HIV-positive status in South Africa.

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HIV/AIDS Workshop in India

Some 30 participants and resource persons attended a three-day HIV/AIDS workshop in Kolkata, India, in February. Participants came from the ICEM affiliate, the Indian National Mineworkers’ Federation (INMF), as well as from the chemical, cement, and diamond sectors.

The workshop was sponsored by the German pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim (BI) as part of the HIV/AIDS Project in India. It was organised by the project’s coordinator, BK Das, who is also the General Secretary of INMF and a member of the ICEM Executive Committee. The workshop was facilitated by the HIV/AIDS Programme Officer of the ILO office in New Delhi, Ms. P. Joshila. Representatives from employers and government agencies and an organisation of people living with HIV were also involved in the workshop.

Emphasis in this workshop was on workplace policies. The ICEM HIV/AIDS Consultant, Hans Schwass, gave a presentation on elements of an HIV/AIDS workplace policy and introduced the ICEM Training Manual for Negotiating on HIV/AIDS. Participants also split in groups to establish work plans for their respective companies and regions to the end of 2011 when the BI sponsorship ends.

Much has been achieved in the HIV/AIDS work in India of the ICEM with its affiliates and sponsorship from BI. More than 50 master trainers are available to continue the work with peer educators of whom more than 600 have been trained.

Global Fund: Bold New Targets Set at Board Retreat

The Global Fund Board says that the Fund’s new strategic plan should have “bold, ambitious and measurable objectives,” including tripling the number of lives saved and the number of infections averted between 2011 and 2016. This information is contained in a report prepared by Dr. Tedros A. Ghebreyesus of Ethiopia, Chair of the Board, on the board’s recent retreat, which was held prior to its regular meeting in December 2010 in Sofia, Bulgaria.

In addition to the objectives related to lives saved and infections averted, the board said that the Global Fund needs to do more to leverage the impact of its investments, particularly with respect to health gains for women and children; to increase efforts to maximise value for money; to increase efforts to ensure protection of human rights and access to prevention, treatment, care, and support for all, including the poorest and most marginalised populations; and to increase efforts to ensure the sustainability of programmes to which the Global Fund is currently contributing.

One area where the board failed to reach a consensus at the retreat concerns the mandate of the Global Fund. There were divergent perspectives on whether the objectives related to the number of lives saved and infections averted should be phrased in a way that will allow the Global Fund to progressively expand its mandate.

(Source: Global Fund Observer, Issue 140 of 3 February. GFO is a free service of Aidspan www.aidspan.org; to receive GFO send an email to [email protected])

Decline in HIV Rates in Zimbabwe Driven by Fear of Infection

The big drop in the numbers of people infected with HIV in Zimbabwe is because of mass social change, driven by fear of infection, according to an international study by the journal PLoS Medicine.

A major investigation of the reasons why HIV prevalence in Zimbabwe has fallen from 29% in 1997 to 16% in 2007 was carried out by epidemiologists at Imperial College, London, and Harvard University School of Public Health, Boston, in partnership with the Ministry of Health, the UN Population Fund, and UNIADS.

The research included extensive analysis of epidemiological data, together with focus groups and key informant interviews, to test the different explanations of the dramatic decline of prevalence. Although HIV prevalence remains high, the fall in HIV prevalence that has taken place in Zimbabwe is the largest see anywhere in sub-Saharan Africa.

(Source: as reported by World AIDS Campaign, Cape Town, 16 February)

South Africa: Xstrata Coal Accused of Sacking HIV-positive Miners

A dispute has arisen in South Africa between ICEM affiliate National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) and Xstrata Coal over the apparent discharge of 12 HIV-positive miners. The miners were first sacked last fall from their jobs at the Tweefontein collieries in Mpumalanga province, but the NUM interceded on their behalf before the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation, and Arbitration (CCMA) and won reinstatement to their jobs.

But in mid-February, Xstrata Coal South Africa informed the NUM that it would re-sack the 12 and appeal the CCMA’s decision to a labour court. At issue is whether or not Xstrata knew of their HIV status through a joint NUM-Xstrata Voluntary Counselling and Testing (VCT) programme that is strictly confidential. Hundreds of Tweefontein miners were tested through the programme in October and November 2010.

NUM Highveld Regional Secretary Paris Mashego, left 

It is uncertain if Xstrata Coal gained access to results of the screenings, but the NUM alleges that the company does know the results. A private service provider was contracted to do the screenings and results are supposed to be shared only with the individual.

NUM Highveld Regional Secretary Paris Mashego accused the company of dragging backward the campaign to test for the pandemic and said the NUM will continue to press for the real motive behind Xstrata’s reversal.

(Source: www.iol.co.za, 23 February and ICEM InBrief, 28 February)

South African Labour Court Affirms Rights of HIV+ Workers, Citing ILO Recommendation No. 200

On 16 February 2011, in the case of Gary Shane Allpass v. Mooikloof Estates (Pty.) Ltd., (Case No. JS178/09), the Johannesburg Labour Court awarded the complainant compensatory damages for unfair dismissal and discrimination on the grounds of his HIV status. The decision examines issues of discrimination in employment on the grounds of HIV status and unfair dismissal, as well as discriminatory screening and forced disclosure of HIV status.

The complainant was employed by the respondent as a horse riding instructor and stable manager on 1 November 2008. At the time of his recruitment, he had been living with HIV for almost 20 years. Prior to being hired, the complainant underwent an interview, during which he informed the respondent that he was “in good health.” Shortly after his hiring, the complainant — along with other employees — was asked to complete a form requiring him to disclose whether he was taking any “chronic medication.” The complainant complied and disclosed that he was taking, among other things, daily medication to manage his HIV condition. Upon learning of his HIV-positive status, the respondent immediately terminated the complainant on the grounds that he had fraudulently misrepresented his condition and that he was, in fact, “severely ill”.

The Labour Court found that the complainant had been discriminated against and unfairly dismissed due to his HIV status and awarded him twelve months’ remuneration in compensatory damages and costs. Apart from considering that the dismissal violated the South African Constitution, the Labour Relations Act, and the Employment Equity Act, the Labour Court also cited the ILO Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) and the Recommendation concerning HIV and AIDS and the World of Work, 2010 (No. 200).

(Source: ILO/AIDS website)

International Cricketing Council Launches Campaign: ‘Get the Facts, Protect Yourself’

The World Cup 2011, organised by the International Cricketing Council (ICC), is being held jointly in India, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. Before this event, the ICC in partnership with UNAIDS and UNICEF launched a new campaign, “Get the Facts, Protect Yourself.” A number of star players feature in a public service announcement which is available to all broadcasters across the globe that encourages young people to inform themselves about HIV, take appropriate action to prevent HIV infection, and stand together against HIV-related stigma and discrimination.

They may be rivals on the field of play, but international cricketing stars Virender Sehwag and Kumar Sangakkara have joined together to support a new “Think Wise” campaign ahead of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011. “The ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 provides an opportunity to use our status as cricketers to deliver important social messages to the millions of supporters who will be watching the tournament across the world,” said India’s Virender Sehwag. “I hope this public service announcement can encourage young people to get the facts and protect themselves from HIV.”

Other cricketing stars in the partnership include Graeme Smith (South Africa), Shakib-Al-Hasan (Bangladesh) and Ramnaresh Sarwan (West Indies). “It is important that young people around the world have access to the right information to help them make informed decisions and break down stigma and discrimination,” said Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara. “Through this public service announcement, I want to help stop the spread of HIV.”

(Source: ITF HIV/AIDS update 100, 1 February)

News from Global Unions

The International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF – www.itfglobal.org) in its latest HIV/AIDS updates No. 99, 100, and 101 of 15 January, 1 February, and 15 February, respectively, reports on a training programme organised in cooperation with the Mongolian Transport, Communication, and Petroleum Workers’ Union; on a national campaign organised by the National Transport Workers’ Union of Columbia to raise awareness of HIV and to promote safer sex practices among bus workers, van, taxi, and truck drivers; and reports, as well, on passengers and on developing and implementing workplace programmes with its affiliates in Mexico.

The February Newsletter of PSUFASA (Public Sector Unions Fighting AIDS in Southern Africa) reports on several in-country seminars, notably in South Africa and Swaziland, and on the ongoing evaluation of the project for which sponsorship from the UK Department for International Development (DFID) will come to an end in March 2011.

Five Years Ago: From the March 2006 Issue

The first issue of the ICEM HIV/AIDS e-bulletin was published in October 2005. In current issues, we refer to an article from the same month, five years ago, and reflect on developments.

In the March 2006 issue of the e-bulletin, we reported on the integration of HIV/AIDS in the International Commemoration Day for Dead and Injured Workers. On 28 April, the trade union movement remembers over two million workers who die and millions more who are injured or who fall sick each year due to unsafe, unhealthy, or unsustainable work and workplaces. The slogan for 2006 was Union Workplaces – Safe Workplaces and the selected themes are: The Global Union Ban Asbestos Campaign, HIV/AIDS – workplace aspects and implementation of programme response and ILO Conventions and Instruments that relate to Occupational Health and Safety.

We also reported on the Product Red initiative. At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, U2 rock musician Bono announced Product RED, an economic initiative designed to deliver a sustainable flow of private sector money to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM). Leading brands made a commitment to channel a portion of profits from sales of specially-designed RED products to the GFATM to support AIDS programmes in Africa with a focus on women and children. The GFATM welcomed this new initiative. Through RED and other initiatives, it hoped to increase the private sector share of income from less than 1% in 2005 to 10% or more in the long term.

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