Somewhere between +ve and -ve

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Somewhere between +ve and -ve

VAISHNAVI C. SEKHAR AND AMRITA NAIR-GHASWALLA

TIMES NEWS NETWORK [ SUNDAY, JANUARY 25, 2004 01:04:46 AM ]

MUMBAI: The controversial issue of discrimination against HIV-

positive persons at the workplace surfaced last week when the Bombay

high court ordered the New India Assurance Company to give permanent

employment to an HIV-positive woman.

Sunday Times finds out that the intolerance runs deep in India Inc,

although a commissioned poll surprised with its liberal results.

Health activist Manoj insists that HIV/AIDS is not a killer. " It is

not the disease which is wiping out people but the discrimination,''

he says.

" With the kind of medicines available today, people can live

healthily for 20 years. But if you don't get a job, how will you

survive?'' The issue of job discrimination against persons with

HIV/AIDS came to the fore last week when the Bombay high court

directed the New India Assurance company to give permanent employment

to an HIV-positive woman.

The court ruled that denying people jobs on the grounds of their HIV

status was discriminatory and a violation of their fundamental

rights.

The progressive ruling has exposed the intolerant face of India Inc.

While many big Indian companies are hurrying to sync with

international policies on the treatment of HIV-positive employees,

the vast majority has still to wake up to the problem.

" Many of our people are losing jobs,'' says Manoj, president of the

Network of Maharashtra by People Living with HIV/AIDS. Anand Grover

of the Lawyers Collective, who represented the recent case, says that

at least 50 per cent of the HIV cases they handle are employment- and

recruitment-related.

" In Delhi, these are largely to do with the armed forces, but in

Mumbai both private and public sector companies are involved,'' he

says. Last year, an International Labour Organisation (ILO) study in

India found that most employees hide their HIV status for fear of

being sacked.

" A lot of people quit because of ill-treatment from co-workers and

management,'' agrees Nidhi Dubey, who works with NGO Avert. Ms Dubey,

who conducts seminars to sensitise corporates, says the responses

range from incredulity to concern to fear.

" The discrimination is across the board—from blue collar to white

collar. In fact, as you go upwards, there's a greater attitude

problem,'' she says, adding that the situation is changing, with more

companies showing interest in AIDS awareness programmes. A poll

commissioned on this issue shows that Mumbaikars have a surprisingly

liberal outlook towards colleagues with HIV.

With Mumbai now having 3.5 to 4 lakh cases of HIV/AIDS, corporates

can only ignore the issue at their peril. As ILO national project

coordinator S.M. Afsar points out, 90 per cent of those infected fall

in the 15 to 49 age group—the most productive years.

On the whole, activists say that the public sector is more

accountable since the Centre's policy on HIV advises that there

should be no pre-recruitment testing and that the criteria for

employment should be fitness to work.

Public sector behemoths HPCL and Bombay Port Trust (BPT), for

example, say that employees with HIV/AIDS are treated like any other.

In fact, the BPT has facilitated a mass AIDS awareness project for

truck drivers and cleaners and recently extended it to their

employees. Employers like the Central Railway and the Steel Authority

of India also subsidise medical treatment for HIV-positive employees.

In the private sector, however, the absence of proper legislation

means that employees are more vulnerable. In one case, the employee

was reinstated after court orders but was denied

promotion. " Employers may not cite HIV as the reason for sacking you.

They can simply say they don't like your face,'' says Ashok Row Kavi,

of Humsafar Trust, a gay

In many countries like Malaysia and the US, companies are not

allowedmandatorily to ask for an HIV test from employees. Activists

claim that in India it is often included in routine medical tests and

that the concept of consent and confidentiality is still new.

Many of these issues will be addressed in a law which will be

submitted to parliament this year. The good news is that some

corporates are not waiting for the stick and are actively promoting

progressive policies. Like Tata Steel, where not just AIDS-affected

workers and their families are counselled, but also the 43,000

workforce. The company has a few workers who have contracted the

ailment.

" We shake their hands and share our lunches, it's no big deal, `'

says spokesperson Sanjay Choudhary. Similarly, multinational

Hindustan Lever says it follows the policies laid down by the World

Health Organisation and the ILO.

" If an employee is found to be HIV-positive after joining, he will

get the same benefits as any other critically ill worker. It's not an

issue at all,'' says T. Rajgopal, principal medical advisor. Larsen

and Toubro,Mahindra and Mahindra, Glaxo and Bharat Petroleum also

have progressive HR policies.

Activists warn, however, that policies should not remain on

paper. " Big companies may get away because they have a document to

show the world, but it should also be implemented,'' says Ms Dubey.

That awareness has at last begun to permeate corporate corridors is

evident from the fact that this year the Indian Association of

Occupational Health's two-day annual session was on HIV/AIDS at the

workplace. The Confederation of Indian Industries has also set up the

Indian Business Trust for HIV/ AIDS.

Mr Afsar agrees that Indian corporates are changing for the better

but they need to step up their efforts. He says, " If you look at the

way HIV has impacted enterprises in high-prevalence countries,

whether it is in South Africa's mining sector or education in

Namibia, it's clear that Indian corporates need to be doing much more

to avert a crisis.''

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/443669.cms