Labor Body Backs Job Code to Protect AIDS Sufferers
By Richard Waddington
Originally published by Reuters, June 22, 2001
GENEVA (Reuters) — The International Labor Organization (IL0), which brings together governments, unions and employers, Friday announced it had drawn up a new code to protect the job rights of AIDS sufferers.
The code, the first such effort to spell out a policy for dealing with the killer disease at the workplace, will be formally presented at the United Nations' special assembly on AIDS next week in New York.
"Health is always an issue in job hiring and it would be naive to think that AIDS was not be a big consideration when taking people on,'' said ILO spokesman John Doohan.
The code, which rejects all forms of discrimination against AIDS sufferers, was approved by the ILO's governing council, which is made up of 28 governmental representatives and 14 each from employer and employee bodies.
Although it is not binding in law, officials said that the code would send out a strong moral and political message to the 191 member countries of the ILO, one of the world's oldest international organizations.
"It is the most wide-ranging and comprehensive blueprint for workplace policy on HIV/AIDS ever… and addresses this present situation as well as future consequences for the workplace,'' ILO Director-General Juan Somavia said in a statement.
AIDS or HIV, the virus that triggers the disease, "should be treated like any other serious illness/condition,'' reads the first of the code's nine key principles.
"In the spirit of decent work and respect for the human rights and dignity of persons infected or affected by HIV/AIDS, there should be no discrimination and stigmatization against workers on the basis of real or perceived HIV status,'' it says.
Screening for AIDS should not be required for job applicants or for people already in employment and any testing should be entirely voluntary, the ILO said.
Where a person had been exposed to potential infection at the workplace, they should be referred to medical facilities.
"Following the conclusion of a risk assessment, further guidance as to the workers' legal rights, including eligibility and required procedures for workers' compensation should be given,'' it said.
The disease affects some 36 million around the world, 25 million of them in sub-Saharan Africa. There is no known cure, although sufferers can survive for years by taking an often expensive cocktail of drugs.
"There should be no discrimination against workers and their dependents living with HIV/AIDS in access to and receipt of benefits from statutory social security programs and occupational schemes,'' the code said.
The code also opposes any discrimination against sufferers by insurance companies and calls for all information relating to a person's HIV status to be treated as confidential.
