The International Labour Organisation (ILO) is formulating a new international labour standard on HIV/AIDS. The draft document has been prepared and is available to read in seven languages on the ILO-AIDS website.
Education International encourages affiliates to get involved in the national consultative processes and contribute to making the ILO document as relevant as possible to HIV/AIDS in the workplace and responsive to the evolving needs of educational workers.
The timeframe for finalising the ‘Recommendation on HIV/AIDS in the World of Work’ is June 2010. This allows for two rounds of consultation with governments and constituents who in turn should consult with representative organisations of employers and workers. This is a good opportunity for teachers’ unions to give their perspective and recommendations on how best to manage HIV/AIDS in educational institutions. To facilitate the process, a copy of the draft report and an accompanying questionnaire were sent to national governments in January 2008. Governments have until August of this year to return their replies. A second draft document will then be produced and a further consultations will ensue during 2009. The current draft focuses on the role of workers’ organisations in a section in Chapter III (pp 78-80) and may be a good point of departure for teachers’ unions.
If you have difficulty downloading the above document or for more information, please contact us at efaids@ei-ie.org.