[HIV/AIDS in the workplace. Practical recommendations of the International Labor Organization].
There are now some 36 million people in the world infected with HIV/AIDS. It is estimated that more than 23 million of them are economically active, including 642,000 persons in Latin America and the Caribbean. In the workplace, HIV/AIDS reduces incomes, imposes added costs on companies, and undermines fundamental labor laws due to the discrimination and rejection that infected individuals suffer. In response, the International Labor Organization (ILO) has produced a document entitled An ILO code of practice on HIV/AIDS and the world of work, which is summarized in this piece. The ILO document aims to help those in the workplace to cope with the HIV/AIDS epidemic through a set of guidelines related to: (a) preventing infection, (b) managing and reducing the impact that HIV/AIDS has on the workplace, (c) delivering care and support for infected workers and, in general, to all the people affected by this epidemic, and (d) eliminating discrimination against persons who are infected or are suspected of being infected. The ILO Code is intended to help in preparing and adopting specific measures in the workplace, thus promoting dialogue and other forms of cooperation among the government, employers, workers and their representatives, workplace health and safety officers, HIV/AIDS specialists, and other interested parties. The intention is also for the Code recommendations to be implemented and integrated with national laws, policies, and programs; company or business agreements; and workplace policies and action plans. This ILO Code is an important step in the struggle against HIV/AIDS. Aimed at governments, employers, and workers throughout the world, the Code recommendations constitute a useful tool in addressing the problem of HIV/AIDS in the workplace, in a just manner. As a "motor" of society, work cannot remain separated from issues of such great social impact.
D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000517:prevention & control*; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006801:Humans; D014937:Work