The ILO Recommendation Concerning HIV and AIDS and the World of Work: A Human Rights Document for the Workplace

1. The ILO Recommendation Concerning HIV and AIDS and the World of Work:A Human Rights Document for the Workplace • IAS Conference 2012Promoting Best Practice AIDS Strategies and • Programmes in the Workplace • Eric Stener Carlson, HIV and AIDS Specialist - ILO

2. Human Rights Violations in the Workplace Related to HIV and AIDS Denial of access to employment Breach of confidentiality Disclosure of HIV status Mandatory HIV testing or screening Unjustified dismissal Inequality in terms and conditions of employment Stigma & discrimination , real or perceived HIV status

3. “If you take away our jobs, you kill us faster than the virus.” • Naveen Kumar, India. • Source: http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/@ed_protect/@protrav/@ilo_aids/ • documents/publication/wcms_115024.pdf

4. ILO Recommendation 200 aims to revert this negative situation

5. Ground-breaking labour instrument to address HIV in the world of work 08 June 2010

6. June 2010: Recommendation #200 is adopted GENEVA (ILO News) – Governments, employers and workers meeting at the annual conference of the International Labour Organization (ILO) today adopted a new international labour standard on HIV and AIDS - the first international human rights instrument to focus specifically on the issue in the world of work. . . . The standard is the first internationally sanctioned legal instrument aimed at strengthening the contribution of the world of work to universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support and contains provisions on potentially life-saving prevention programmes and anti-discrimination measures at national and workplace levels. SOURCE: http://www.ilo.org/global/about-the-ilo/press-and-media-centre/ news/WCMS_141928/lang--en/index.htm

7. The ILO Recommendation #200:Taking our efforts to the next stage During the International Labour Conference, Mr. Juan Somavia, the Director-General of the ILO stated that the “development of this new international standard would take the work of the ILO and its partners to ‘the next stage’ and would elevate the commitment at national and international levels.” Source: International Labour Conference, Provisional Record, 99th Session, Geneva, 2010, paragraph 82, page 13/16.

8. R.#200 outlines protections for all workers • Broad scope of coverage: • All workers + families + dependants, including: • Persons in any employment, occupation or economic sector; • Persons in training (interns, apprentices and volunteers); • Job applicants, job seekers, laid-off or suspended workers; • Workers in the informal economy; • Armed forces and uniformed services; HIV and AIDS Recommendation, 2010 (No. 200)

9. R#200 outlines protections for key groups: Children & young persons • Workers in occupations particularly exposed to risk of HIV transmission • Workers belonging to groups more vulnerable to HIV infection Migrant workers • Workers discriminated against based on their sexual orientation HIV and AIDS Recommendation, 2010 (No. 200)

10. R.#200 highlights: • III 3 a): • there should be no discrimination against or stigmatization of workers, in particular jobseekers and job applicants, on the grounds of real or perceived HIV status or the fact that they belong to regions of the world or segments of the population perceived to be at greater risk of or more vulnerable to HIV infection;

11. R.#200 highlights: • 14. Measures should be taken in or through the workplace to reduce • the transmission of HIV and alleviate its impact by. . . • e) promoting the involvement and empowerment of all workers regardless • of their sexual orientation and whether or not they belong to a vulnerable group;

12. Practical Application of Recommendation #200 in Africa • National HIV Workplace Policies andCodes in: • South Africa; • Zimbabwe; • Zambia;

13. Practical Application of Recommendation #200 in Africa • Joint business and labour coalitions in: • Lesotho; • Namibia; • Zimbabwe;

14. Practical Application of Recommendation #200 in Africa • The draft of a regional (Southern African Development Community) Code of Practice on HIV and AIDS and Employment has been reviewed recently in terms of Recommendation 200.

15. Inspired by Recommendation #200: “Guidelines Recommended in Response to HIV and AIDS in the Workplace: Enterprises from the Ground Transport Sector in Chile” (2011) • An Innovative HIV and AIDS Workplace Policy: The Case of Chile

16. RepresentativesfromtheMinistry of Labour and Social Provision and theTransport Sector gathertodraftthefirst HIV sectoralpolicy in Chile

17. DevelopingtheChileanGuidelines: Active Involvement of theTransCommunity

18. DevelopingtheChileanGuidelines: Inclusion of IndigenousPeoples’ Perspectives

19. Implementing R#200: Actions Governments Can Take • Collaboratewith employers, workers and people living with HIV to integrate workplace policies into national strategies; • Take account of National laws and regulations and involve labour administration and judicial authorities; • Train labour inspectors and other to monitor policy implementation and compliance; • . HIV and AIDS Recommendation, 2010 (No. 200)

20. Implementing R#200: Actions Employers Can Take • Develop workplace policies and programmes; • Facilitate access to treatment care and support; • Establish supply chains and set up public-private partnerships (PPP) to expand HIV programmes; • Promote HIV education and training at all levels; • Monitor programme responses; HIV and AIDS Recommendation, 2010 (No. 200)

21. Implementing R#200: Actions Workers’ Organizations Can Take • Collaborate with governments and employers to develop national, sectoral and enterprise level workplace policies and programmes; • Promote awareness of HIV and AIDS among their affiliates; • Participate in HIV workplace committees response monitoring; HIV and AIDS Recommendation, 2010 (No. 200)

22. “The experience of being seropositive makes me feel, without a shadow of a doubt, that work has been the fuel that I have needed in order to have, and to continue having, a new lease on life.” • EuriandaNóbregaLeite, Brazil. • Source: Positive Workers Write! (ILO, 2011) [Narratives, poetry and short stories, inspired by the ILO’s Recommendation #200.]