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Panelists applaud steps taken by some firms to fight HIV/AIDS
Andy Shlensky. 08 June 2006. Independent Online (IOL). Republished courtesy of Independent Newspapers (Pty) Ltd.
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Though labour is not always synonymous with its role in the fight against HIV/AIDS, the AIDS Legal Network (ALN) hosted a public debate on Wednesday that acknowledged that some companies are doing it right.
A panel of six speakers representing NGOs, labour unions and the City of Cape Town recognised mining giant De Beers and Eskom in particular for their progressive behaviour and policy in dealing with the pandemic.
Panelist Neil Newman, a representative of the International Labour Research and Information Group, commended an agreement that De Beers signed in which they agreed to cover the cost of treatment in full for infected employees as well as the cost of counsellors.
Costs are also covered after retirement or retrenchment, but not dismissal or resignation.
Though the policy does not currently include the coverage of children, that is currently under negotiation.
"HIV is not just a personal issue, it is a social and developmental issue as well," said Joy Beckett, HIV/AIDS operations manager for De Beers. "Within the last three years (since beginning HIV/Aids programmes) the De Beers community and De Beers employees think about HIV/AIDS much differently than they used to."
The panelists insisted though that there is still a lot of work to be done.
"HIV in the workplace is often being dealt with as a cost analysis issue instead of a human rights issue," ALN representative Shawn Hattingh said.
"Many companies still believe they can dismiss HIV infected workers without legal recourse, which is absolutely false."
Hattingh added that while about a third of large companies in South Africa are offering anti-retrovirals to their workers, many require employees to disclose their status.
"South Africa has the highest rate of deaths from HIV/AIDS complications in the world, which shows a lack of information, a lack of communication and a lack of knowledge in these areas," Newman said.
"There is a high rate of death in this country and it doesn't have to be that way."
Herman van der Watt, a representative of the City of Cape Town, reaffirmed that this is not a fight at the workplace alone.
"There is an opportunity to accommodate it at the workplace," Van der Watt said. "But this epidemic is everyone's responsibility." |
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