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HIV/AIDS DIGEST

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WHAT IS PANDEMIC, SOCIALLY DESTABILIZING, THRIVES ON POVERTY, THREATENS DEVELOPMENT - AND TRADE UNIONS CAN DO SOMETHING ABOUT? (Answer )

HIV/AIDS - why a digest of information and resources?

The HIV/AIDS pandemic is a growing threat to human life and dignity, but you wouldn't necessarily know that from the proportion of time, attention and resources given to the issue - whether in the media, political debate or social and economic resources dedicated to it. The problem of HIV/AIDS can seem to be remote and someone else's problem, but as the International Labour Organisation insists - the epidemic is everybody's business.

When you begin to look at the facts and to consider the effects of HIV/AIDS - the everyday experiences of working people, their families and communities - the situation is truly shocking. It is so not only because HIV/AIDS is a rather nasty, incurable disease, but because its rapid spread is largely preventable.

In the UK, the level of awareness of the threat to public health has diminished over the years despite the fact that there are some 53,000 people currently living with HIV with about 7,000 new cases diagnosed in 2004. Seven thousand new cases in one of the world's richest countries is a statistic we cannot lightly ignore. Due to lack of education and poor access to social protection and treatment, poverty and HIV/AIDS go hand in hand in the worst affected parts of the world - feeding on and mutually reinforcing each other. Support, knowledge and resources would go far in halting the spread of HIV/AIDS.

HIV/AIDS and the Workplace

HIV/AIDS devastates individual lives. It has a ripple effect - touching family and friends, prompting reactions, hostile or sympathetic. It touches the workplace - where stigma, discrimination, inflexible and unsafe working practices or even job loss can result if adequate policies, information and training are not in place. HIV/AIDS may devastate individual lives, but campaigning to stop HIV/AIDS needs a collective dimension in the workplace if it is to be effective.

HIV/AIDS should be recognized as a workplace issue, and be treated like any other serious illness/condition in the workplace. This is necessary not only because it affects the workforce, but also because the workplace, being part of the local community, has a role to play in the wider struggle to limit the spread and effects of the epidemic.

ILO Code of Practice on HIV/AIDS and the world of work

Trade Unions and HIV/AIDS

At every level there is something that trade unions can do. The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) has an active programme for shop stewards to discuss and take up HIV/AIDS issues such as prevention, discrimination at work and access to treatment. The ICFTU-Africa Regional Organisation (AFRO) has a project to combat stigma and discrimination at work and alleviate suffering involving 9 sub-Saharan countries. TUC Aid has sponsored workshops in Kenya, Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Zambia and funded the printing of HIV-AIDS manuals for shop stewards. In the UK unions are working with the National Aids Trust to provide basic information for trade union members and representatives about HIV/AIDS.

(See www.tuc.org.uk/international/tuc-11100-f0.cfm for more on TUC campaigning).

This Digest highlights the role of workplace action in the campaign and is intended as a guide for trade unionists to information and resources on HIV/AIDS. The resources will help in gaining an overview of how the epidemic impacts upon developing countries and, importantly, provide a range of examples of trade union training, techniques and strategies in the bid to stop HIV/AIDS. The Digest can be used for raising awareness, building knowledge and, especially, planning action. In the resources reviewed you will find information and activities that will help:

Build understanding of the threat to life, livelihood and development presented by HIV/AIDS

Press the case of HIV/AIDS as a workplace issue

Provide a source of information on facts, figures, effects and experiences

Devise policies and programmes for action at all levels

Present examples of trade union action in addressing the problem of HIV/AIDS

Build awareness and activism on HIV/AIDS

Put together training and education programmes or activities on different aspects of HIV/AIDS issues

For any queries or further information contact:

Bandula Kothalawala bkothalwala@tuc.org.uk, (International HIV/AIDS policy and international workplace practice)

Gemma Freedman gfreedman@tuc.org.uk, (International development awareness)

Peter Purton, ppurton@tuc.org.uk, (Domestic policy and workplace practice)

All at the TUC or call TUC switchboard - 020 7636 4030.

Written Resources

COSATU (2000) COSATU Campaign Against HIV/AIDS. A guide for shopstewards. COSATU. Booklet.

This is a very useful booklet for trade unionists. It presents information about HIV/AIDS in a straightforward manner that is easy to understand. What makes it particularly useful - and sets it apart from many other information booklets - is that it puts the problem of HIV/AIDS where it belongs - in its economic and social context.

Produced by the South African Congress of Trade Unions, the booklet sets out the scale of the problem in Africa and relates the rapid spread of the disease to poverty and lack of access to socio-economic rights such as housing, clean water, sanitation and health care. It describes how HIV is and isn't transmitted, the stages of the infection, its meaning and implications in the workplace and 3 key ways in which the union can act. The role of the shop steward is outlined, and there is a very handy sample draft of a workplace policy on HIV/AIDS.

In an educational or discussion setting in branches or workplace committees, this booklet presents excellent source and stimulus material for both awareness raising and action planning on HIV/AIDS. Do bear in mind that information on testing, treatment, the law etc refers to S. Africa and you will need to supplement if referring to other countries.

Available at www.cosatu.org.za/docs/2000/hivbook.htm

EI/WHO (2004) Teachers' Exercise Book for HIV Prevention. WHO Information Series on School Health, pp216.

This teaching manual has been produced collaboratively by the global union federation Education International, the World Health Organisation and Education Development Center Inc. Although designed for use by trade union leaders and teachers in schools, for reasons explained below it presents an excellent resource for any union planning some concentrated work on HIV/AIDS.

The first section of the manual addresses the potential learning needs of teachers and facilitators taking part in an HIV/AIDS educational role. There are activities to deal with basic knowledge building, attitude forming and a wonderful checklist on how to deal with the difficult situations that may arise in teaching on this subject.

The second section moves on to a series of activities intended to develop capacity for justifying work on this topic. Given the target group for the manual, these refer to 'parents', mobilising 'school resources' etc - but 'union' or 'workplace resources' would generally stand just as well in their place.

The final section then presents activities for use with children and young people. Again many of these activities could be adapted without too much difficulty for use with adults. They deal with developing positive attitudes towards those with HIV/AIDS, dispelling myths, providing reliable information, and promoting HIV and STI (sexually transmitted infections) prevention.

It should be noted that supportive notes and tips are provided on use of the activities throughout, and there are appendices at the back of the manual covering common questions and controversies concerning HIV, with suggested responses as well as a series of fact sheets. This makes for a fairly comprehensive, supportive and clearly thoughtfully produced teaching pack. In this sense it will be of great value to those new to teaching on this subject area, for those preparing union lay officials or opinion formers, as well as for experienced trade union tutors developing work on HIV/AIDS .

Available from Education International (see Organisations below), or downloadable at www.ei-ie.org

Global Unions (2005) HIV/AIDS is a Human Rights Issue, Human Rights are Trade Union Issues. Global Unions leaflet.

This is a 3-fold leaflet that sets out the impact of HIV/AIDS on working people, what trade unions can do, Global Unions' long term goals and how specifically trade unions can contribute. Short and to the point this is great awareness raising and back-up material for any trade union HIV/AIDS campaign.

Available from Global Unions at www.global-unions/org/pdf/ohsewpT_6.EN.pdf

ICFTU-AFRO (2002) A Training Manual for Shopstewards on HIV/AIDS in the Workplace. ICFTU-AFRO 87pp.

This publication has been designed for use by shop stewards in preparing other workers to act as peer educators on HIV/AIDS issues, and so contribute to the prevention campaign in the workplace and in the community. Available in English, French, Swahili and Portuguese, the manual is targeted for use in Africa, but could be used in most other cultural contexts with occasional minor adjustments.

Initial chapters explain the purpose and value of peer education, together with tips for identifying those most likely to be respected and effective in the role. There is also explanation of key terms and useful educational methods. Subsequent chapters then work through basic factual information about HIV/AIDS, its significance in the workplace, the role of trade unions in the campaign against HIV/AIDS, workplace policy guidelines, basic counseling skills and guidelines for those looking after someone with HIV/AIDS.

Each chapter presents brief background information and tips for running the activities with peers - how to plan the session, resources that may be needed, and how to introduce the topic and use relevant discussion material.

Moving from information giving and awareness raising, through guidelines, policy elaboration, counseling and care, the manual deals with both the individual and collective aspects of HIV/AIDS at the same time as tying together the need for awareness and action. As such, it is an excellent, supportive resource for all trade unionists

Downloadable at www.icftuafro.org/public/hivmanualen.pdf

ILO/NOTU (2005) Trade Union Actions Against HIV/AIDS in Uganda. A Workers' Education Manual. ILO 132pp.

A collaborative work between the Ugandan National Organisation of Trade Unions and the ILO, this manual is intended as a 'social vaccine' to support those suffering HIV/AIDS. Its first provides information and activities on the health aspects of the disease, then covers its impact, and the trade union role in developing action that is at once supportive and helps act as a 'social vaccine'. The manual is separated into modules - each module has activities and the relevant background information.

The focus of the manual is Uganda in the context of the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Africa. It is excellent in demonstrating the 'whole country' impact - from the effect on individuals to the effect on organisations, be they companies or trade unions, to the impact at societal level affecting, for example, education or business planning and the social fabric in general. With the emphasis firmly on the value of trade union action on HIV/AIDS, the manual also underlines the positive outcomes that can be achieved by working on the socially preventable aspects of the pandemic.

Available at www.ilo.org/public/english/dialogue/actrav/publ/newpubl.htm

ILO (2005?) Action on HIV/AIDS in the Workplace Starts Here. A Step by Step Guide.

As the prime target for use of this material is countries with severe HIV/AIDS problems, it may be thought that its focus is not quite what's needed for the context of the UK. Yet as a practical document for building trade union action it provides a focus for comparing experience, building confidence to argue the case of HIV/AIDS as a workplace issue, and a step by step guide for promoting and implementing a considered workplace policy.

Tutors and branches working on HIV/AIDS will find the guide contains a useful collection of 33 case studies and examples of workplace policy and actions. The steps covered are 1. Basic Information, 2. Benefits of Acting in the Workplace, 3. First Steps. 4. Agreeing a Workplace Policy, 5. Starting a Workplace Programme, 6. Preventing HIV Transmission, 7. Care, support and treatment, 8. Human Rights, 9. Gender, and 10. Getting More Help and Information.

Available at www.ilo.org/public/english/protection/trav/aids/steps/step-1.htm

ILO (2004) Women, girls, HIV/AIDS and the world of work. ILO AIDS Brief, 4pp.

This is one of a series of fact sheets on different aspects of HIV/AIDS produced by the ILO. The fact sheet provides stimulus for reflection on relationships between the status of women, lack of autonomy and education, their experience in the labour market and the risks of HIV. The format, with short paragraphs and illustrations, is highly readable and is excellent focus material for any trade union discussion forum.

Available at www.ilo.org/public/english/protection/trav/aids/activities/research-policy.htm and www.unaids.org/en/media/fact+sheets.asp

ILO (2002) Implementing the ILO Code of Practice on HIV/AIDS and the world of work. ILO Education and Training Manual, 320pp.

Each resource you look at will have something different to offer on the problem of HIV/AIDS, but if there is one that is a 'must' for trade union work, this is it. In presenting information, case studies, sample policies, education and training activities, HIV/AIDS is shown to be inextricably an issue for workplace action - for employers and trade unions.

In response to feedback requesting guidance in implementing the ILO Code of Practice on HIV/AIDS and the world of work, the manual is designed to facilitate the development of informed action to preclude and combat misguided reaction to HIV/AIDS issues. It does that in a form that is accessible both in terms of availability and pitch. The format is such that it can be used at local, national or international level, can be used to plan HIV/AIDS specific activity or to complement and enhance trade union work already under way.

The sections cover the epidemic and its impact on the world of work, HIV/AIDS as a human rights issue, the role of employers, workers and their organizations, the role of government, the gender dimensions, workplace programmes for prevention, care and support, and HIV/AIDS and the informal economy. Each section presents the issues with particular reference to the world of work, includes varied learning activities, case studies, extracts, models and samples of legislation, policies and collective agreements, and references.

Available from www.ilo.org/public/english/protection/trav/aids/events/2002.htm

ILO (2001) An ILO code of practice on HIV/AIDS and the world of work. 38pp

The ILO Code of Practice was written in recognition of the HIV/AIDS epidemic as a global crisis and challenge to development and social progress. It points up how HIV/AIDS impacts on the world of work, affecting not only productivity and skills, but fundamental rights at work also.

The code sets out the key principles and guidelines that can help secure conditions of decent work in the face of this major humanitarian and development crisis. It provides the basis from which most trade union activity (including the union material reviewed in this Digest) is elaborated.

Available at www.ilo.org/public/english/protection/trav/aids/publ/code.htm. For CD or hard copy contact the ILO

ITF (2004?) HIV/AIDS: Transport Workers Take Action. An ITF resource book for workers in the transport sector.

This book is aimed at leaders in transport unions, especially senior shop stewards, educators and negotiators. The manual is divided into four sections - HIV/AIDS from the perspective of the transport sector, facts about the disease, with the role of the trade union, and workplace policies, agreements and negotiating strategies. Each chapter also contains some case studies to refer to, as well as a set of educational activities. At the end of the book are a glossary, links to organisations and some sample policies. The resource book can be used to facilitate a workshop or discussion with workers or shop stewards and office bearers.

Available for download at www.itfglobal.org/news-online/index.cfm/newsdetail/673

New Internationalist (2002) How to Crush Aids. Six Steps to end the deadly disease. No. 346, June.

This edition of New Internationalist is getting a little old, but is still worth a read because it gives a fairly comprehensive perspective on what AIDS means for people, how it affects the lives of working people, how those with HIV/AIDS are dealing with issues, and the help they need. Containing short magazine articles means the content is suitable for use as stimulus or background material (or even a quick read when you have a moment) without the intense concentration needed for some data packed sources.

Available from New Internationalist or at www.newint.org

UNDP (2005) Community Capacity Enhancement Handbook. UNDP, pp104

This is essentially a 'training the trainers' Handbook and clearly sets out the relationship between community and social and economic development. The methods it proposes will be familiar to trade union educators, although, given the nature of the project, there is perhaps greater emphasis on aligning the personal attitudes of facilitators to the collective aims of communities.

The Handbook sets out how Community Capacity Enhancement relates to strategic planning - how it fits in with other policies and development issues. The main part of the Handbook is made up of guidance and activities on developing a community/ collective approach and activism on HIV/AIDS issues. Although principally designed for work in countries with severe HIV/AIDS problems, experienced trade union education tutors or officers wishing to do work on HIV/AIDS will find plenty within the activities that will enable participants to consider issues arising in the context of international development.

Available for download at www.undp.org/hiv/leadcapdev.htm

Websites

www.actionaid.org.uk

Follow the links What We Do and HIV & AIDS to get to the dedicated section on the topic. Here you can find plenty of information - including facts & figures, the impact on developing countries, Campaigns (including actions that you can take collectively or as individuals) , HIV/AIDS work, Research reports (showing for example, the effect of World Bank and IMF policies) and Publications

www.avert.org.uk

Avert is a UK based charity with the aim of averting HIV/AIDS worldwide. The value of this site for trade unionists is the volume and accessibility of the information it provides. Its prime links include Africa, Countries and Regions, Gays and Lesbians, Statistics, Treatment and Care, UK and more. Each link is divided into smaller sub links and is likely to provide information on many commonly held assumptions and questions. The Issues and Responses link, for example, has sub links on The Politics of HIV/AIDS, Stigma and Discrimination, Treatment and the TRIPS (trade) related aspects of HIV/AIDS drugs. For Tutors there are also ready made quizzes that you can extract from for use in an educational setting.

www.christianaid.org.uk

Click Other Campaigns to find the sub-link on HIV/AIDS. This provides information on the campaigns that Christian Aid is involved in, research reports and video clips on, for example, work with children with HIV/AIDS. There is also a useful 'Take' Action' section that deals effectively with the 'Why Bother' issue - that will speak to anyone who is concerned about HIV/AIDS irrespective of religious background.

www.businessfightsaids.org

This is the site of the Global Business Coalition - set up by millionaires such as George Soros and Bill Gates, seeking to harness the individual and collective power of the world's top corporations to fight the spread of AIDS at the local, national and international levels.

The content has information on what the big pharmaceutical companies say they are doing to deal with the HIV/AIDS crisis, fairly detailed case studies on what some multinational companies are doing on HIV/AIDS and more. Follow the About Us link and you will find a hyperlink member companies in the text, enabling you to check out which multinational companies are part of the coalition. For activists and trade union tutors this could provide a handy vehicle for developing action on HIV/AIDS.

www.icem.org/

The ICEM web site has an HIV/AIDS dedicated link with a power point presentation available for download. You can also find details of what ICEM wants to achieve - and what it's doing now.

www.icftu.org and www.global-unions.org/hiv-aids

The ICFTU and Global Unions have a joint campaign under way - their HIV/AIDS specific web pages are regularly updated to incorporate new initiatives, actions and reports.

www.ilo.org/public/english/protection/trav/aids/index.htm

You will find stacks of information here - so approach with care - otherwise it's a bit like being in a hypermarket - there is so much choice you forget what you are there for. Core documents are downloadable here (such as the ILO code of practice on HIV/AIDS, and the manual on implementing the code, reviewed above), legislation, policy and guidelines for selected developing countries and up to the minute news and research.

www.ilo.org/public/english/dialogue/actrav/

This web link should (when it is working well) take you to up to date calendars of courses offered by the Turin based ILO training centres, including course on HIV/AIDS at union officer/executive level. E.g. on OSH and HIV/AIDS. If the link doesn't work, you will need to be prepared to e-mail or call for further information.

www.stopaidscampaign.org.uk

This is the site of the coalition of more than 70 of the UK's development and HIV campaign groups, aiming to raise awareness about HIV & AIDS and campaign for access to care and treatment. It has a basic facts section about who's getting treatment, who's not and why. A useful source of information for identifying what's available for UK sufferers, for making country comparisons, and for exploring areas of campaigning activity.

www.tuc.org.uk/international/tuc-11100-f0.cfm

This part of the TUC web site provides an extended statement on HIV/AIDS. It flags up key facts and figures on the incidence and impact of HIV/AIDS, the special role of trade unions in helping to prevent its spread, examples of trade union actions, together with a list of campaign aims.

For other information on HIV/AIDS use these as key words to do a site search - an advanced search will produce a more detailed list of documents.

www.unaids.org/en/media/fact+sheets.asp

This is a series of Fact sheets on different countries or different aspects of HIV/AIDS e.g. the Millennium Development Goals & HIV/AIDS, Latin America, Japan, Global Facts & Figures Education and Women. Selected fact sheets could be used by trade union education Tutors as a basis for discussion. (See review of the fact sheet on Women, girls, HIV/AIDS and the world of work, above).

www.undp.org./hiv

The HIV/AIDS section of the United Nations Development Programme is specialised and huge. It is the place to go if you already have a fairly strong knowledge of HIV/AIDS issues and are looking for material related to strategy development, specific approaches to working on HIV/AIDS, country information etc. It has focus areas on HIV/AIDS and Human Development, Governance of HIV/AIDS Responses, Human Rights, Gender and HIV/AIDS. There is also a Leadership Capacity Development link and one for Publications - through both of which there are stacks of available resources.

www.unicef.org/aids/

The web site details the situation confronted by an increasing number of children and young people as a result of HIV/AIDS. (e.g. of the 5m new infections in 2002, half were among young people under 25). There is little here from a trade union perspective, but the site is included because there is much that many trade unionists will want to be informed about. You can find information on the situation for children born with the infection, of older children who have become infected with HIV/AIDS and of millions of children whose lives and futures are affected by the loss of the adults around them. You can use the Real Lives link to illustrate the everyday reality behind the statistics - and other links for UNICEF's work on HIV/AIDS.

www.unison.org.uk/international/hivaids.asp

This is a sub-section of the International link on the UNISON main site. To date there is a small amount of information here - a copy of the report and presentations given at the HIV/AIDS union seminar in Southern Africa in 2004 and a link providing basic information on HIV/AIDS. This is particularly useful for UNISON members as it gives examples of work that UNISON is already doing on HIV/AIDS, together with a position statement - which will help activists focus campaign planning.

www.who.int/hiv/en

The focus of this site is treatment, care, support and preventing mother-child transmission. The Topics link provides an extensive list of specific aspects of HIV/AIDS and further information. You can access up-to-date publications - including reports such as annual updates on the AIDS epidemic, and for particular countries you can generate a country report. The Voices of Hope link down the page links to a series of photo stories that illustrate a range of different experiences, from what getting access to treatment means for families with young children, to speaking out against stigma in Zambia and outreach work in India. For anyone working on HIV/AIDS issues these present an excellent means of relating facts and figures to real lives and individuals.

www.worldaidscampaign.org

This site has much to offer in terms of popular campaigning. Take a look at the Promises, Promises report published on World Aids Day 2005 that charts what governments and global institutions have said and done. There are also articles, interviews, photo and video-journalist reports, in addition to lots of ideas for getting involved and campaigning.

www.world-psi.org/Content/NavigationMenu/English/Campaigns/HIV_AIDS/HIV_AIDS.htm

HIV/AIDS is one of the campaigns of the global union federation Public Services International. To date there is a small amount of information here, but the great value of this web page is that its focus is in its consideration and detailing of HIV/AIDS as a workplace issue. This will be of help to all looking to detail the rationale for trade union/workplace activity on HIV/AIDS, as part of a campaign to get governments and policy makers to 'Keep the Promise'.