Thursday, June 17, 2010
[IWS] ILO: New! HIV & AIDS INTERNATIONAL LABOUR STANDARD [17 June 2010]
IWS Documented News Service
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Institute for Workplace Studies----------------- Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations-------- Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor---------------------- Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016 -------------------------------Director, IWS News Bureau
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International Labour Organization (ILO)
International Labour Organization Conference
PR No. 13A - TEXT OF THE RECOMMENDATION CONCERNING HIV AND AIDS AND THE WORLD OF WORK
or
[full-text, 28 pages]
Resolution concerning the promotion and the implementation of the Recommendation on HIV and AIDS and the world of work, 2010
http://www.ilo.org/aids/lang--en/docName--WCMS_141898/index.htm
or
[full-text, 2 pages]
Press Release 17 June 2010
ILO conference adopts unprecedented new international labour standard on HIV and AIDS
[excerpts]
GENEVA (ILO News) – Governments, employers and workers meeting at the annual conference of the International Labour Organization (ILO) today adopted a new international labour standard on HIV and AIDS - [pdf 1597 KB] - the first international human rights instrument to focus specifically on the issue in the world of work.
The new standard - [pdf 1597 KB] was adopted by a vote of 439 to 4, with 11 abstentions by delegates to the International Labour Conference, following two years of intense and constructive debate.
The standard is the first internationally sanctioned legal instrument aimed at strengthening the contribution of the world of work to universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support and contains provisions on potentially life-saving prevention programmes and anti-discrimination measures at national and workplace levels. It also emphasizes the importance of employment and income-generating activities for workers and people living with HIV, particularly in terms of continuing treatment.
The Conference also adopted a resolution on its promotion and implementation that invites the ILO Governing Body to allocate greater resources to give effect to the new standard, requesting that a Global Action Plan be established to achieve its widespread implementation and regular reporting from ILO member States.
...
The final instrument is based on the following principles:
the response to HIV and AIDS should be recognized as contributing to the realization of human rights and fundamental freedoms for all, including workers, their families and their dependants;
HIV and AIDS should be recognized and treated as a workplace issue, which should be included among the essential elements of the national, regional and international response to the pandemic with full participation of employers’ and workers’ organizations;
there should be no discrimination against or stigmatization of workers, in particular jobseekers and job applicants, on the grounds of real or perceived HIV status or the fact that they belong to segments of the population perceived to be at greater risk of or more vulnerable to HIV infection;
prevention of all modes of HIV transmission should be a fundamental priority;
workers, their families and their dependants should have access to and benefit from prevention, treatment, care and support in relation to HIV and AIDS, and the workplace should play a role in facilitating access to these services;
workers’ participation and engagement in the design, implementation and evaluation of national and workplace programmes should be recognized and reinforced;
workers should benefit from programmes to prevent specific risks of occupational transmission of HIV and related transmissible diseases, such as tuberculosis;
workers, their families and their dependents should enjoy protection of their privacy, including confidentiality related to HIV and AIDS, in particular with regard to their own HIV status;
no workers should be required to undertake an HIV test or disclose their HIV status;
measures to address HIV and AIDS in the world of work should be part of national development policies and programmes, including those related to labour, education, social protection and health; and,
the protection of workers in occupations
AND MORE....
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Stuart Basefsky
Director, IWS News Bureau
Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell/ILR School
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor
New York, NY 10016
Telephone: (607) 255-2703
Fax: (607) 255-9641
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu
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