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The International
Labour Organisation (ILO) on Wednesday agreed to vote tomorrow on a new
International Labour Standard on HIV and AIDS to protect people living
with HIV/AIDS in the workplaces.

The ILO Liaison
Officer in Abuja, Pius Udo, said that if the International Labour
Conference (ILC) adopted the standard, “it would be the first
international human rights instrument to focus specifically on HIV and
the world of work.” The committee of governments, workers and employers
convened in Geneva last Monday to discuss and agree on its content and
approve the draft standard, along with a new resolution on its
promotion and implementation.

The proposed
standard contains provisions on prevention programmes and
anti-discrimination measures at national and workplace levels aimed at
strengthening the contribution of HIV positive people to work;
universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support. If
finally approved, this will shield the HIV positive people from
discrimination. The resolution had invited the ILO governing body to
allocate resources to give effect to the standard and requests to
regular reports from member states on its implementation for review,
saying the UNAIDS and WHO supports would also be encouraged as
discussed during the discussions.

Sophia Kisting,
director of the ILO Programme on HIV and AIDS and the World of Work,
said: “members of the HIV and AIDS Committee used their experience in
implementing the ILO Code of Practice on HIV and AIDS to craft this
landmark instrument that is real proof of the power of social dialogue.
If adopted on Thursday, this standard will take workplace interventions
to a higher level in the global response to HIV and AIDS.” Also, the
Chairperson of the HIV and AIDS Committee, Thembi Nene-Shezi said the
Committee “had made history” in the “crafting of this instrument which
should be a source of pride for the ILO and its constituents.”

No job loss

Mrs. Kisting also
clears the view that there might be clash between the already
implemented Code of Practice on HIV/AIDS, and the world of work and the
new standards if finally voted for adoption. “The ILO Code of Practice
adopted in 2001 is a set of principles that enjoys a great deal of
support amongst ILO member states, as well as UN agencies and many
organizations both within and outside the UN system. While there is no
intention to change the Code, we have experienced that there can be
selective implementation of its 10 principles and a new recommendation
would strengthen the Code and create much greater harmonization of our
work place programmes. If adopted it will be the first international
human rights instrument to focus explicitly on HIV/AIDS,” she said.

“One of the central
reasons that a new recommendation was proposed by the ILO Governing
Body was that our constituents wanted to find a way to help address
stigma and discrimination. To this day stigma and discrimination still
means job losses, it still means a lack of access to jobs, and it still
means that through fear and going too late for an HIV test that
potentially a life is lost. Through an international human rights
instrument such as this proposed recommendation we can more confidently
tackle stigma and discrimination, make sure that people could access
voluntary counselling and testing and be referred for treatment in time
and we can help save businesses and small enterprises and ultimately,
lives.”

Nigeria involved

Nigeria has 20
government delegates, seven employers’ delegates and 7 Labour group
contingents, including the Trade Union Congress president,Peter Esele
and Odah John of the Nigeria Labour Congress The Nigerian government
contingent, in its brief, said that it believed that the proposed
recommendation would help fill the gaps in efforts to stem the scourge
of HIV/AIDS.