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At The Workplace Wenceslaus Murape
THE International Labour Organisation (ILO), supported by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and Aids  (UNAIDS), has launched an initiative to reach five million workers with Voluntary and confidential HIV Counselling and Testing (VCT@WORK) by 2015. The initiative will ensure that people who test positive are referred to HIV services for care and support, and treatment if needed.

“We want to use the mobilising power of the ILO to encourage five million working women and men to undertake voluntary HIV testing by 2015,” said ILO Director-General, Guy Ryder. He called upon all ministries of labour, employers’ and workers’ organisations to join forces and turn this target into reality. “The countdown to 2015 has begun — let us make each day count!” he added.

The rapid expansion of antiretroviral therapy in recent years has allowed 8 million people living with HIV to access treatment — enabling them to live longer, healthier and more productive lives and remain part of the workforce. However, according to UNAIDS, it is estimated that seven million people currently eligible for treatment are not accessing it. Furthermore, it is estimated that around 40 percent of people living with HIV globally, do not know their status, thus preventing them from accessing treatment. In many countries, this figure is higher than 50 percent.

“If workplaces embrace this new initiative it could signify one of the most important advances we’ve seen in expanding access to HIV testing within a healthy, enabling environment and linking to on-going support including treatment,” said Michel Sidibé, Executive Director of UNAIDS.

The VCT@WORK initiative, (voluntary counselling and testing) is part of the ILO’s efforts to achieve Millennium Development Goal 6 and the global target of reaching 15 million people living with HIV with lifesaving antiretroviral treatment by 2015, as set out in the 2011 United Nations General Assembly Political Declaration on HIV and Aids. “To reach this goal we need to work together to ensure that all workplaces are free of stigma and discrimination,” the ILO Director-General said.

The VCT@WORK initiative builds on the ILO’s Recommendation on HIV and Aids and the World of Work (No.200), to ensure safe and healthy working environments free of stigma and discrimination.

The ILO’s tripartite constituents, (governments, employers and workers), will strengthen existing partnerships to ensure access to testing and treatment for workers, their families and communities. They will be supported by the International Labour Office, the UN family, development partners, national Aids programmes and networks of people living with HIV. India has already launched a national VCT@WORK programme, with South Africa and Tanzania expected to follow in the coming months.

The VCT@WORK initiative is a key element of the ILO’s “Getting to Zero at Work” campaign, which was jointly launched with UNAIDS and WHO on World AIDS Day 2012. The campaign has enlisted the support of a number of leaders within the UN system, the world of work, networks of people living with HIV and other stakeholders.

VCT@WORK was launched while about 5 000 delegates representing governments, employers and workers from the ILO’s 185 member States are gathering in Geneva for the International Labour Conference to discuss various worlds of work issues including employment and social protection in an ageing world, sustainable development and social dialogue.

The ILO Director-General and UNAIDS Executive Director were joined at the launch by Mr Grégoire Owona, Minister of Labour and Social Security of Cameroon; Ms Jacqueline Mugo, Executive Director of the Federation of Kenyan Employers; Mr Luc Cortebeeck, President of the Confédération des Syndicats Chrétien; and Ms Francoise Ndayishimiye, Senior Gender Advisor at UNAIDS, who spoke of the importance of confidential voluntary counselling and testing.

The HIV pandemic is one of the most significant challenges to health, development, and economic and social progress facing the world today. In the countries that are worst affected, the impact of HIV and Aids has eroded decades of development gains, undermined economies and destabilised societies.

HIV is expected to continue to be a leading cause of mortality and morbidity in many countries and populations.
HIV poses a significant obstacle to the attainment of decent work and sustainable development. It has led to the loss of the livelihoods of millions of persons living with or affected by HIV and Aids. Its effects are concentrated among the most productive age groups and it imposes huge costs on enterprises through falling productivity, increased labour costs and the loss of skills and experience.

In addition, fundamental rights at work are often violated on the basis of real or perceived HIV status, particularly through discrimination and stigmatisation directed at workers living with and affected by HIV and Aids. To make matters worse, the pandemic tends to move along the fault lines of society, particularly affecting groups that are already disadvantaged or marginalised.

The world of work is playing a crucial role in addressing HIV and Aids. It offers a valuable entry point to reach women and men workers in the setting where they spend much of their lives: the workplace.

The development and implementation of workplace policies and programmes on HIV and Aids facilitate access to prevention, treatment, care and support services for workers and their families and dependants, thereby also reaching out to the larger community.

And yet, the important role of the world of work in addressing the pandemic has not been optimally utilised.
If it is to make its full contribution to addressing the pandemic, it is essential for action in the world of work to form an integral part of national HIV and Aids policies, programmes and strategies.

In 2001, the ILO adopted the Code of Practice on HIV and Aids and the world of work, which has been widely accepted and used in many countries. In 2007, the Organisation’s constituents decided that the time had come to raise the response of the world of work to HIV and Aids to a different level through the development and adoption of an international labour standard.

The resulting Recommendation No. 200 constitutes an unequivocal commitment by the ILO’s constituency of member States and the representatives of employers and workers, in close collaboration with organisations of people living with HIV and partner international organisations, in particular UNAIDS, to tap into the immense contribution that the world of work can make to ensuring universal access to prevention, treatment, care and support.

The Recommendation reflects the need to strengthen workplace prevention efforts and to facilitate access to treatment for persons living with or affected by HIV and AIDS. It calls for the design and implementation of national tripartite workplace policies and programmes on HIV and Aids to be integrated into overall national policies and strategies on HIV and Aids and on development.

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