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Bill to bar HIV bias at workplace

HIV/AIDS screenings on job applicants and existing employees may be banned under a proposed policy that says the infection should in no way affect employment.

The National Policy on HIV/AIDS and Work Place, crafted by the Union labour ministry with the International Labour Organisation’s assistance, will form part of the HIV bill being drawn up by the health ministry. The bill seeks to make employers liable for discrimination against staff with such diseases.

The labour ministry wants its proposals to cover all employers and workers, including applicants, across public and private sectors and the self-employed. All types of workplaces, contracts and all aspects of work, formal or informal, could be covered.

“There is no justification for asking job applicants or workers to disclose HIV-related personal information. Nor should workers be obliged to reveal personal information about fellow workers. Personal data covered by medical confidentiality should be stored only by personnel (who are) bound by rules on medical secrecy and should be maintained apart from other personal data,’’ the policy says.

A labour ministry official said the guidelines were intended to manage the impact of the epidemic in the sphere of work. “The threat of HIV to the Indian working population is evident from the fact that nearly 90 per cent of the reported infections are from the most productive age group of 15 to 49,” the official added.

According to the National AIDS Control Organisation (Naco), an estimated 2.31 million people in India were living with HIV/AIDS in 2007. Of this, 88.7 per cent were between 15 and 49 years, 7.5 per cent were aged 50 and above and 3.5 per cent were below 15. Around 0.34 per cent of the population has HIV/AIDS, Naco says, adding women account for 39 per cent of the cases.

“Stigma and discrimination at workplace gets reflected in loss of emplo yment and livelihood opportunities in addition to ostracism and seclusion faced by workers from known or presumed HIV status. It should never happen,” says the policy, now being circulated among ministries.

HIV infection can’t be a cause for termination of employment and those with HIV-related illnesses should be able to work for as long as they are medically fit in appropriate conditions, it says, adding that the treatment cost should form part of medical/welfare packages.

The policy seeks to address another problem area: exclusion of people with HIV from insurance schemes offered by public and private companies. The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) should develop all-inclusive health insurance plans for such people, it says.

All workplaces — organisation, institution, businesses, company and others — should have an HIV/AIDS committee to coordinate and implement internal programmes for the infected. Multinationals can set up such HIV/AIDS panels too.

The labour ministry official said corporate houses were consulted and claimed several companies, including PepsiCo, Hindustan Unilever, Apollo Tyres and Crompton Greaves, had agreed with the guidelines in principle.

To monitor the policy’s implementation, the government plans to set up a steering committee on HIV/AIDS. It will comprise employers and worker organisations.

The HIV bill, of which the policy will form a large part, will aim to make employers liable for any discrimination against staff with HIV/AIDS and make them responsible for guaranteeing such employees a safe working environment.