Industry takes to AIDS control

May 13, 2002

The Times of India 9 May, 02

New Delhi: With close to four million people estimated to be infected with HIV

in India, a few business houses are already having to reimburse huge medical

bills even as most of them incorporate programmes to prevent higher incidence of

sickness.

At a two-day workshop organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce

and Industry, representatives of sugar mills were urged to take up prevention

programmes.

Some of the well-known industrial houses such as Larsen and Toubro, Glaxo,

Mahindra and Mahindra, Tata Tea, Bajaj, TISCO as well as the Steel Authority of

India already have a clearly defined policy towards HIV, which addresses their

concerns and is not violative of any human rights, he said.

In fact, the government is now actively turning to the industry for help in AIDS

prevention efforts. Labour ministry joint secretary K Chandramauli said a

tripartite mechanism involving employers, trade unions and the government to

prevent the spread of AIDS was being evolved.

The major challenge before the government was to reach out to the more

vulnerable informal sector, which forms about 93 per cent of the total workforce

in the country, he said. This, he agreed, would need a multipartite strategy.

The labour ministry was trying to evolve programmes targeting this workforce, he

said.

In the African countries, the epidemic has resulted in loss of skill and

experience, rising labour costs and reduced supply of labour. The workplace, it

is felt, could play an important role in limiting the spread and mitigating the

impact of AIDS.

______________________________

Dr.Jagdish Harsh ( jharsh@... )

Director of Administration and Operations

François-Xavier Bagnoud INDIA ( www.fxb.org )

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