Their numbers are increasing. But their suffering often remains hidden as stigmas and fears have built a wall of silence surrounding discrimination. Unfair dismissals, pre-employment mandatory tests, harassment, lack of confidentiality, denial of promotion and training are among the abuses suffered by HIV positive workers, according to trade unionists.
Discrimination is rife and is documented.
Yet what we know is only the tip of the iceberg. Workers want to denounce discrimination, but at the same time they still fear to come out, as stigmas still surround the disease , said Franklyn Lisk, a senior ILO official. Among the cases cited by trade unions was the pre-employment, mandatory testing of crew members by the South African Airways. An opposite example was however given to the conference by the Human Resources Manager of Ford Motor Company, Johan Strijdom, who described the plan implemented by the company in partnership with South African trade unions and aimed at combating AIDS at the workplace. Confidentiality is a rule, and workers can freely be tested at the company s clinic in confidence , Mr Strijdom told the audience.