'Industry should take care of young HIV-infected workers'

[Guest guest]

'Industry should take care of young HIV-infected workers'

As most people with HIV are young and economically productive, it will make

business sense for companies to take care of the infected workers and prevent

transmission of the virus, speakers at an industrial workshop said today. An

infected person, given the right care and medication, could be productive for

long.

Almost 80 per cent of those infected with HIV were in the 20-45 age group and

were thus productive, earning and sexually active. The virus would thus cost

employers in the form of absenteeism, medical expenses, loss of skilled labour

and decrease in production, " N. Usman, head, department of Sexually-Transmitted

Diseases, Government Royapettah Hospital, said.

The direct annual cost of HIV/AIDS a worker was (as per a study in a South

African sugar mill in 2001) 33 per cent in hiring and training new personnel, 28

per cent in loss of productivity, 28 per cent in absenteesim, 10 per cent in

clinical and physician visits, and one per cent in hospitalisation.

Industries, for their own sake, could battle HIV, holding AIDS awareness camps

for workers and making condoms available in the workspace. However, many

companies were reluctant to even allow doctors to demonstrate use of condoms.

" They should get out of this inhibition. "

Industries could also seek help from non-governmental organisations, which would

work with them if they were given a place, allowed to counsel employees and

distribute condoms, and given financial assistance, said Dr. Usman. More than a

dozen companies and representatives of employees, trade unions and NGOs

participated in the workshop on 'HIV/AIDS at the workplace', organised by the

Employers' Federation of Southern India (EFSI). Industry alone could not tackle

the AIDS menace, and would need the Government, the NGOs, communities and trade

unions as partners, J.N. Amrolia, Chairman, EFSI (Tamil Nadu committee), said.

In most companies, there was still a stigma attached to HIV/AIDS patients.

Inaugurating the workshop, M. Rajaram, Labour Commissioner, said such programmes

should not be restricted to the organised sector and spread to the unorganised

sectors, which constituted 92 per cent of the worksforce. The International

Labour Office recognised AIDS as a workplace issue and suggested that industries

set up health committiees to deal with management of HIV/AIDS and ensure that

infected employees were not discriminated against.

Other speakers suggested exclusive counselling centres for employees. K.

Palanisamy, Deputy Director, Tamil Nadu AIDS Control Society, said it was

important for industries to offer counselling to HIV-infected workers, as they

would be disturbed mentally. An Indian National Trade Union Congress

representative said trade unions would be ready to help to set up separate cells

for dealing with the virus and disease.

Medical centres in industries should encourage people with sexually-transmitted

diseases to seek medical help and take care of themselves, said Bimal ,

Project Director, AIDS Prevention and Controal Project. The UNICEF consultant

on parent-to-child transmission, P. Kuganantham, said companies should look in

to the individual comforts of labourers and ensure that they were close to their

families so that they would not be promiscuous and thus render themselves

vulnerable to HIV.

A representative of the Positive Women's Network, an association of women with

HIV, suggested that voluntary counselling and testing centres be set up in

workplaces and that these include HIV-positive people, who could function as

peer counsellors. The participants later decided to create awareness of HIV/AIDS

and ensure that, in accordance with ILO guidelines, those with HIV were not

discriminated against.

Source:THE HINDU, Sunday,November 2,2003,Page No.5,Madurai Edition)

_____________________

Yours in Global Concern

A.SANKAR

Executive Director

EMPOWER

107 J / 133 E, puram

TUTICORIN - 628 008, INDIA

e-MAIL: <ttn_empower@...>