ILO launches report on discrimination against people with HIV in the Chinese workplace
On 30 November 2010, the International Labour Office (ILO) for China and Mongolia and Ms Guo Jianmei, leading specialist in public interest law and founder of the first Chinese public interest NGO, will release a report on workplace discrimination towards people with HIV in China.
The report will be released at an event jointly held by the ILO, UNAIDS and Marie Stopes International at the Beijing Hilton (Dongsanhuan). At this event, the UN joint team on HIV in China will also recognize the significant contribution of Ms Guo Jianmei in promoting and protecting the rights of people living with or vulnerable to HIV. Ms Guo is the first public interest lawyer in China to provide legal assistance for vulnerable people and has extensive experience in both the civil service and non-profit sectors.
The report, entitled “HIV and AIDS Related Employment Discrimination in China”, documents discrimination against people with HIV in workplaces across the country. This includes mandatory testing of workers and denial of job opportunities, forced (or pressured) resignations, mandatory job changes or downgrading of job responsibilities and barriers to accessing health insurances schemes. The ILO and the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention jointly conducted the research.
Xiao Jun (pseudonym), a person who was recently refused a teaching job in China because of his HIV status, said “This report highlights the kind of discrimination we face on a daily basis… Nobody can live without work… and there is no valid reason for denying us of our right to work. Denying us of this right is even worse than suffering from HIV…”
The report recognizes that progress has been made to reduce employment discrimination in China. For example, the 2006 Regulation on the Prevention and Treatment of HIV/AIDS and the 2007 Employment Promotion Law of the People’s Republic of China both guarantee the right to work for people with HIV. However, it also notes that there are several challenges that remain to be addressed in order to secure the right to work of people with HIV in China. For example, people with HIV are prohibited from working in the civil service and in hotels, cafes, bars, beauty salons and hairdressers.
“It is the position of the 183 member states of the International Labour Organization that people with HIV have the right to work in any field for which they are qualified. There should be no exceptions.” said Richard Howard, Senior Specialist on HIV and AIDS for ILO Asia Pacific.
In June 2010, the International Labour Organization passed the first international labour standard on HIV and the Workplace (Recommendation 200). Representatives of governments, employers groups and trade unions from 183 member countries of the ILO agreed that there should be no employment discrimination against people with HIV, no HIV mandatory testing as a condition of employment or any other purpose and that confidentiality should be upheld at all times. Workers with HIV should be provided with the same rights to employment, promotion and social security benefits as other workers.
In 2009, UNAIDS released a report based on a survey of HIV and AIDS related stigma and discrimination in China. The report, entitled The China Stigma Index, was the first of its kind in China and found that more than 40% of people with HIV had faced HIV-related discrimination and nearly one in six had been refused employment or a work opportunity because of their HIV status.
Release of the joint ILO and Chinese Center for Disease Control report is scheduled to coincide with World AIDS Day, which this year will focus on the protecting the rights of people with HIV.
For more information, please contact either Dr Richard Howard (phone: +662 288 1765, email: howard@ilo.org) or Ms Wu Rulian (phone: +86 10 6532 5091 ext 142, email: wurulian@ilo.org).
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Chang Kun
General Coordinator of China Youth HIV/AIDS Assembly
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