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Global reach: how trade unions are responding to AIDS: Case studies of union action
49
Southern Africa: HIV prevention in forestry
Wood and forestry trade unions in southern Africa have joined forces to develop
networks of skilled AIDS activists who run public campaigns on HIV and negotiate
workplace agreements. The IFBWW—the global union facilitating the programmes—
uses occupational health and safety as the entry point for work on HIV. There is a
focus on women forestry workers who, employed in a mainly male environment, are
at particular risk of HIV infection.
Based in Johannesburg in South Africa, Inviolata Chingayanrara has been leading
her union’s response to AIDS for many years. Inviolata is Regional Education Coordinator for
southern Africa for global union federation, the International Federation of Building and Wood
Workers (IFBWW). IFBWW is made up of 287 trade unions who together represent more than
ten million workers in building, building materials, wood and forestry.
High risk sector
HIV prevalence among workers in industries covered by the IFBWW is high. In
wood and forestry—the focus of IFBWW’s HIV work in the region—workers are usually male
migrant labourers living far away from their families in makeshift homes and compounds. Their
worksites are often in remote areas where the only recreation is to drink heavily in local beer
holes. Local communities are usually poor and local women sell sex to the workers to supple-
ment their incomes.
Although the industry is predominantly male, women are employed as nursery attend-
ants to weed, plant and apply fertilizers. They are also employed to pack seedlings, prune and
to carry out a range of clerical, secretarial and computer functions. Like their male colleagues,
women are likely to be exposed to HIV through risky sexual behaviour associated with long-
term separation from families, and poor accommodation. The minority in the sector, women are
also susceptible to sexual exploitation and harassment from peers.
Best practice in Zimbabwe
The IFBWW’s approach to the epidemic is to put HIV at the top of the occupational
health and safety (OHS) agenda of affiliated trade unions. The federation works with health and
safety officers to integrate HIV policies into workplace campaigns and collective bargaining
policies. The focus of recent projects has been protection and support for populations at risk,
particularly women and migrant workers.
An illustration of the IFBWW’s approach is a large ‘best practice’ project imple-
mented by the Zimbabwe Furniture Timber and Allied Trades Union (ZFTATU) with the
IFBWW’s support between 2000–2002. The project, funded by the Swedish Forest and Wood
Trade Union, began as a traditional health and safety project, covering exposure to hazardous
dust and chemicals, but quickly expanded to focus on HIV.
“As we were implementing the training, the workers said that they knew all about
chemicals and other hazards, but that what they really wanted was information about HIV and
AIDS,” recalls Inviolata Chingayanrara. The workers were also concerned about discrimination
and exclusion in the workplace. The Zimbabwean Government had passed a law on confiden-
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50
tiality and non-discriminatory practices but workers knew nothing about the legislation and
employers were capitalizing on their ignorance.
Union valued
The project evolved to include a major focus on HIV prevention. Campaigns and
training programmes were conducted on the plantations. Strengthening the capacity of the
ZFTATU was also a feature of the programme. “In the process workers became aware of the
wider role of the union,” Inviolata explains. “Workers saw that the union was not just there
for collective bargaining but also had a role in protecting and supporting workers. We won the
support of the employers who saw the value-added of the union’s work. They could see that
unions had structures to address HIV: education, social, health.”
The IFBWW is certain that the Zimbabwe programme has had a significant impact on
workers and employers in the sector. Knowledge among workers about HIV transmission and
safer sex has increased. Employers have worked in close partnership with the Zimbabwe timber
union, providing paid time off for training, and allowing the union access to the plantations to
distribute union material. The union now polices employers to guarantee that union members
get money if they are off sick with HIV-related disease. The ZFTATU has also demonstrated its
commitment by signing off a comprehensive union policy on HIV.
Project goes regional
As a result of the ZFTATU experience, the IFBWW and its affiliates decided to
extend the project to other wood and forestry unions in southern Africa. Eight unions from
Mozambique, Malawi, Swaziland and South Africa joined the programme in 2003.
The first stage of the project has involved sensitisation of workers in wood and
forestry to the need for proper occupational health and safety and HIV policies. The project’s
outcomes are impressive. To date it has:
•
trained over 300 workers on using health and safety as an organizing tool and in
addressing HIV in the workplace;
•
negotiated for the inclusion of safety issues and HIV in collective bargaining agree-
ments;
•
established two safety shop steward councils in South Africa to follow up plans
developed after the national workshops;
•
conducted six national campaigns on HIV in Zimbabwe, Malawi and Swaziland
reaching 11 650 people, and 50 local campaigns reaching close to 13 450 rank and
file members;
•
used occupational health and safety as a tool for organizing and increased union
membership. Since 2003 the two Zimbabwean project partners have acquired 3300
recruits as a direct result of the programme.
In the second stage the IFBWW and its affiliates will concentrate on training,
establishment of well functioning safety structures and strengthening the capacity of unions to
deal with HIV. Earlier this year, 25 delegates from large wood and forestry plantations met for five
days in Swaziland to be trained in the role of workplace safety committees and policy development
on HIV. The 25 will act as peer educators within their countries as well as taking responsibility for
following up grassroots activity on HIV. At national level, unions from Malawi, South Africa and
Zimbabwe are holding joint training workshops and campaigns on OHS and HIV.
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Global reach: how trade unions are responding to AIDS: Case studies of union action
51
Female face of the epidemic
Two unions from neighbouring countries have joined forces to tackle one of the
biggest challenges of HIV in the region—the female face of the epidemic. HIV is affecting
increasing numbers of women and girls in southern Africa. In some countries, young women
are three times more likely to be infected than young men. Women and girls are also more likely
to carry the burden of care for the sick.
Swaziland and Zimbabwe have been particularly badly affected by the spread of
HIV. In Swaziland nearly 34% of its one million population is HIV positive. In Zimbabwe
prevalence is just over 20%. In both countries widespread poverty is exacerbating the impact of
the epidemic, making marginalized populations even more susceptible to HIV infection. Both
countries have large numbers of orphans and child headed households; some women are forced
to sell sex to add to the household income.
The ZFTATU in Zimbabwe and the Swaziland Agriculture and Plantation Workers
Union (SAPWU) launched a project in December 2004 to share information on the impact of
HIV on workers in the wood sector, particularly the extent to which women workers are affected.
The project is supported by the Norwegian Wood Workers Union (NTAF). Like earlier IFBWW
projects, the programme also sets out to use the workforce as a forum for reaching people at risk
of HIV by campaigning for the integration of HIV into collective bargaining agreements.
Leaders of both trade unions have praised the project’s potential to develop high
capacity networks of skilled AIDS activists who will be able to deal with the specific threats
faced by women workers. In Swaziland the trade union intends to grasp the opportunity to
educate the public about HIV and to encourage employers to develop protection and support at
work. The presence of committed international partners, ready to provide funding and support,
will also be a major strength of the programme.
Popular theatre
In Burkina Faso, the IFBWW funds a drama group called ‘Yamwekre’ which means
‘prick your conscience.’ Using music, drama and poetry, the theatre troupe tours
rural areas and educates local people about HIV. In two years more than 10 000
people have attended their shows.
After the performances, the actors—20 men and women—host a discussion
session with the audience. Abdou Ouedraogo, the IFBWW’s Regional Education
Coordinator for West Africa, explains how this works, “The feedback is important to
win over people who are sceptical. Sometimes people are shocked by the perform-
ances, but most are very happy to have accurate information on the pandemic.”
The company also works with local schools. Children from 30 schools are asked to
take part in a competition to choose the themes which the theatre group should
incorporate in their work. The competition is a deliberate attempt to provide young
people with information about the virus and to reach the students’ parents.
The performances are for the whole community—not just IFBWW members. “We
deliberately perform to everyone,” says Abdou. “It’s a trade union’s duty to go
everywhere to talk about the epidemic.”
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International solidarity with southern Africa
UNISON, Britain’s largest trade union, builds on its close contacts with members
of Public Services International (PSI) to provide practical support to public sector
unions in low-income countries in their struggle to respond to HIV. With direct
political access to politicians and government in the UK, UNISON also has an
effective advocacy arm for calling for greater international action on the pandemic.
United Kingdom trade union UNISON shows the power that trade unions in indus-
trialized countries can bring to the response to HIV. UNISON’s work on HIV is one of its main
international priorities and is expressed through political lobbying and practical solidarity with
public sector trade unions in southern Africa.
UNISON has more than 1.3 million members working in public services, utilities
and for private contractors. They include frontline staff and managers working in the National
Health Service and local authorities, colleges and schools, transport, the police service, and the
electricity, gas and water industries.
On HIV, UNISON works closely with Public Services International (PSI), a global
trade union federation based in Geneva, consisting of over 500 public sector unions, including
UNISON, from 140 countries.
Political clout
As Britain’s biggest trade union, UNISON has political clout and financial muscle.
It can mobilize thousands of members in support of workers in the UK and worldwide who are
struggling for their rights. While nongovernmental organizations rely on traditional advocacy
methods, UNISON’s political links give the trade union direct access to Members of Parliament
and the government. UNISON members have a direct route to parliament through extensive
links with the Labour Party. UNISON lobbies the Labour Government and the Party through
policy forums, conferences, local constituencies and its national group of 78 Labour Members
of Parliament. It also uses its political fund to collect money from union members to finance
big political campaigns.
The trade union uses its links to drive home the need for international action on
AIDS. Its work on AIDS began in 1999 when it joined the global solidarity movement that was
campaigning for access to cheaper medicines in South Africa. UNISON lobbied for United
Kingdom politicians to take up the issues.
For the past two years, UNISON activists have been campaigning for better political
and financial support for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and for
the World Health Organization’s “3 by 5” Initiative. In 2004 UNISON organized a lobby of
parliament with the National Union of Students (NUS) and the campaigning group Action for
Southern Africa (ACTSA) which pressed politicians to step up their support for global action.
UNISON has also been campaigning through the Stop AIDS Campaign, a group of 70 devel-
opment and AIDS nongovernmental organizations, which works to raise awareness in the UK
about the global epidemic and campaigns for scaled-up international action.
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Global reach: how trade unions are responding to AIDS: Case studies of union action
53
International solidarity
In 2001 a resolution passed at UNISON’s annual conference formally committed
the trade union to provide practical support to public sector unions in low- and middle-income
countries. UNISON already had strong links with southern Africa. It had collaborated with the
trade union movement in South Africa since the late 1980s, supporting trade unions in their
struggle against apartheid and, more recently, fighting privatisation.
Although endowed with a large international fund, UNISON did not rush in with
money or preconceived ideas about how they should support trade unions in the region. Polly
Jones, UNISON International Officer, explains, “We thought it was important to support our
sister unions but not necessarily through funding. We started our collaboration by talking to 50
unions in the region. We asked them what they thought it would be useful for UNISON to do to
support them. They prioritized opportunities for them to talk to other public sector trade unions
in their region.”
The consultation was followed by a seminar held in Johannesburg in December 2004.
The aim was to bring together public sector unions from across southern Africa to motivate
greater trade union action in dealing with HIV in the workplace.
Public sector unity
More than 70 delegates from public sector unions across southern Africa came
together for the seminar. Represented were Angola, Botswana, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique,
Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The seminar was supported by
ACTSA and global union federation PSI.
For UNISON, the workshop was an integral part of their consultation to establish
what support they could appropriately provide in the region. “The workshop was an important
first step. We needed to know what our sister unions wanted from us before we could broaden
our participation,” says Polly. “It was also an important opportunity for union representatives to
learn from each other, exchange ideas and share experiences of their members’ struggle against
HIV/AIDS.”
Delegates shared examples of current activities and discussed the role of political
activism in responding to the pandemic. The severe impact on public services in the region
was a constant theme. The loss of trained and experienced staff through migration abroad, and
AIDS mortality, has eroded the health care infrastructure of many countries. The unions also
described how the structural adjustment programmes and poverty eradication policies of the
World Bank and International Monetary Fund had had disastrous effects on public services.
Capacity-building
From the discussions that took place, a number of key themes emerged that now form
the basis for UNISON’s ongoing work in the region
16
. The main concern was the capacity of
trade unions to work on HIV. The seminar discussed the problem of responding to the epidemic
when unions’ own capacities and structures have been seriously weakened. Participants were
also aware that they needed to formulate coherent policies on HIV with the close involvement
of their members.
16 See report of the seminar Developing trade union responses to HIV/AIDS in Southern Africa. UNISON 2005.
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54
“One of the main problems for unions is that they are struggling to have smooth-
running systems in basic trade union activities—organization, education and so on. If at grass-
roots, the capacity is not there, then the union cannot handle HIV projects,” emphasises Polly
Jones. “We will try to help by adapting training modules that we have used elsewhere—for
instance working with Iraqi trade unions.”
UNISON now plans to seek out and support a number of capacity-building projects
so that weakened union structures and membership can be rebuilt. In cooperation with PSI, the
trade union also plans to appoint a regional HIV coordinator to manage UNISON’s work in
southern Africa.
The union also intends to conduct research and develop policy on the adverse effects
of the migration of health workers on responses to HIV in the region. A forthcoming research
paper on international labour migration will show how the exodus of health workers from
developing countries puts a severe strain on the health care systems of sending countries and on
their capacity to care for people living with HIV.
HIV in the UK
While UNISON’s international unit is preparing to work in southern Africa, officers at
home are helping the union’s members to deal with HIV in the UK.
UNISON promotes the rights of UNISON members living with HIV, educates health
workers on universal precautions to prevent infection, and protects the rights
of people who face stigma and discrimination because of public ignorance and
misconceptions about the virus.
The union does this by publishing guidance for its branches on dealing with HIV
and enforcing government legislation, as well as by training shop stewards, health
and safety representatives and union officials. The aim is to encourage member
branches to have policies in place in every workplace, and to equip shop stewards
with the information needed to provide comprehensive advice.
Hope Daley, National Health and Safety Officer for UNISON, says, “The most
common concern from members is confidentiality. Health workers need to know
whether they should share information with colleagues about their status. People
don’t want to say because they will face discrimination. But if people can’t come
forward, then they may not be able to access the services that they need.”
Members are also concerned about the need to take time off for treatment and time
off to recover from treatment, and about the rigid dietary regimes that are linked to
the treatments.
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Global reach: how trade unions are responding to AIDS: Case studies of union action
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Reducing risk among agricultural workers in Uganda
In Uganda trade unions representing agricultural workers have for years been running
specific programmes on HIV. In addition the unions actively address issues such as
child labour, gender discrimination, casual work and unemployment that increase
vulnerability to HIV. United in the belief that strong trade unions help workers to
be well-informed and better able to influence their lives, the trade unions focus on
grassroots activities to build up union organization and respond to HIV. The unions
are assisted by global union federation the IUF.
Agricultural workers are among the lowest paid and the worst treated labourers in
Uganda. They are also highly vulnerable to HIV infection. Men and women often live together in
living quarters called ‘labour camps’ where conditions are ripe for HIV to be spread quickly.
Omara Amuko is the Health and Safety Coordinator in Africa for global union
IUF and responsible for managing the IUF’s response to HIV in the region. The IUF—the
International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied
Workers’ Associations—is an international federation of trade unions representing workers
employed in a range of settings, including agriculture and plantations. Like other global unions,
the IUF has strong trade union structures worldwide through which it supports the activities of
336 trade unions in 120 countries.
Labour camps: poor conditions
Omara has first-hand experience of the poor working conditions of agricultural
workers. “In a rural environment there is no clear distinction between the working and living
conditions of agricultural workers,” he explains. “Plantation workers live together in labour
camps where the conditions mean that HIV and other infections can be easily spread. The
accommodation is poor. The rooms are very small. Poverty is very high and prostitution is a
problem.” Living quarters around the plantations are known as ‘labour camps.’ Overcrowding
in the camps is common, with as many as 1000 families accommodated on some plantations.
In addition, the level of literacy among agricultural workers is very low, allowing
misconceptions about HIV to flourish. Sexual abuse is encouraged by poor work organization,
such as isolated work-stations, lonely night shifts and non-transparent practices for recruitment
and promotion.
Peer education
Recognizing the urgency of responding to the epidemic, the IUF began organizing
a national programme on HIV in the 1990s. The programme’s main feature is peer education.
Omara first trained and now coordinates a group of six trainers from the national centres of
IUF-affiliated trade unions.
This group was responsible for the training of a larger group of 20 union activists—
company employees who negotiate time off from their employers to conduct normal trade
unions duties, deal with HIV and focus on strengthening grassroots membership and organiza-
tion. The peer educators also set up family planning sessions and arrange for HIV testing.
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Activists also distribute condoms to men and women working on the plantations
though some trade unionists are wary. There are complaints about poor quality imported
condoms. When use of condoms is not reliable, some peer educators prefer to stick to the first
two letters of the HIV ABC: Abstinence (or delay of sexual debut), Be Faithful (or reduce
numbers of sexual partners), and Condoms (correct and consistent use).
The high turnover of workers means that trade unions need constantly to renew their
work on HIV education on the plantations. Many workers are on 12-month contracts. When
new workers are recruited, the unions target them with information on HIV prevention.
Hella Alikuru, the IUF’s African Regional Secretary, testifies to the merits of peer
education, particularly for young people. “We train women and youth as counsellors and peer
educators. It should be easy to change their attitudes and address the negative impact on them. If
we train youth by their own peer group in their own language then they will understand each other.
It will not be like adults training them and controlling them like parents in their own home.”
National programmes
One union with a long tradition of peer education is NUPAW Uganda, the largest
trade union organization in the country. The National Union of Plantation and Agricultural
Workers (NUPAW) represents workers in the tea and sugar plantations and in other agricultural
areas such as rice farms and flower farms.
In the 1990s the union trained 120 workers to be study circle leaders. The study
circles engage groups of workers in discussing pressing issues at work. In the past these sessions
have been important opportunities for learning new skills and discussing the root causes of
problems. In one case, workers from Kasaku Tea Estates filed complaints with their employer
after a discussion in their study circle revealed that several workers had become impotent from
suspected chemical exposure.
NUPAW and other national trade unions have their own programme of activities for
responding to AIDS. Recognizing that many agricultural workers can neither read nor write,
they employ drama and music groups to educate men and women on the plantations about the
dangers of HIV. The theatre companies are often women’s groups who perform plays and make
up songs. Their performances are popular with people living on the plantations who have few
other avenues for entertainment.
Partnerships with employers
The focus for much of the IUF’s work is the tea plantations and the two big sugar
companies with large workforces in Uganda—the Sugar Corporation of Uganda Ltd and the
Kinyara Sugar Works Ltd. They also work with labourers around the plantations, for example
the outgrowers who provide sugar cane to the factory or tea to the tea processing plant.
The unions work closely with the Ministry of Health. There are strong relationships
with local women’s groups especially in family welfare and reproductive health. Employers are
usually supportive of the unions’ projects.
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Global reach: how trade unions are responding to AIDS: Case studies of union action
57
“Employers are different in their responses. Many have been very supportive,” says
Omara Amuko. “Multinationals have policies on HIV/AIDS and there is no discrimination. The
issues are built into collective bargaining agreements. But women who work for local companies,
often involved in coffee processing and outgrowing, sometimes face discrimination.”
Care and treatment
With projects in HIV prevention firmly established, Hella Alikuru says that the next
step for the IUF is to take up issues of care and treatment for people living with HIV. “We
need to take up the issue of access to antiretroviral drugs. Trade unions should solicit them on
behalf of their members. Governments must avail drugs for the plantations. Because agricul-
tural workers are confined to where they are working, trade unions need to make sure that their
members have time to take their drugs and that they have the proper food. It’s not just about
drugs. It’s about proper nutrition.”
She would also like to see more active HIV policies at the workplace, based on the
ILO’s Code of Practice. “Many companies use their policies as PR. Trade unions need to have
a negotiated kind of input so that none of the parties are offended in the process.”
The lessons
Omara says the IUF has learned lessons from its work with affiliates on HIV prevention.
“We know that HIV can be controlled. We know that people must be vigilant—they must not
backtrack on their commitments. My experience is that big changes can take place—stigma and
fear come out and are confronted. In the youth groups now it is a normal issue. There is no fear,
and there is much less stigma and discrimination towards people living with HIV and AIDS.”
Broader issues
HIV prevention and awareness programmes are crucial but equally important for the
IUF are strategies to deal with broader issues such as child labour, unemployment, women’s
skills and casual labourers.
Hella Alikuru, the IUF’s Regional Secretary, is clear about the link between macr-
oeconomic issues and the spread of the pandemic. This year the IUF has launched two new
regional projects in English-speaking and French-speaking Africa. Women and young people
are two of the main target groups.
“We need to look at the whole picture. How do we help youth who are not employed?
If they are idle, they may be behaving in an irresponsible manner. How can we help women
have skills so that they have income generation rather than prostitution? How can we organize
casual labourers so that they have trade unions to stand up for their rights?”
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Organizing sex workers in Cambodia
The Cambodian Prostitute Union has helped reduce HIV infection in the sex
industry by educating sex workers about safer sex and their rights. It uses its collec-
tive strength to show sex workers how to stand up to brothel owners and clients.
Union Aid Abroad - APHEDA, the aid arm of the Australian Council of Trade Unions,
was instrumental in helping sex workers form the trade union during its work in
Cambodia on HIV in the late 1990s in partnership with CWDA, a leading women’s
nongovernmental organization.
Cambodia has the highest HIV prevalence in South East Asia. The virus is mainly
spread through heterosexual sex, including men who have unprotected sex with sex workers.
But the country’s HIV prevalence has fallen significantly in the last five years from an estimated
4% of the population in 1999 to 2.6% in 2002 to 1.6% (range 0.9–2.6%) in 2005. The success
is due to large-scale efforts by the government and nongovernmental organizations to direct
education and treatment at groups at risk. A new trade union, the Cambodian Prostitute Union
(CPU), has played an important role in helping women in the sex industry to protect themselves
from the risk of infection.
Phnom Penh’s sex industry
More than 14 000 women and children are sex workers in Cambodia’ capital Phnom
Penh. Most are found in the city’s red-light district, a strip north of the city known as Svay Pak.
Girls aged 15 to 18—some only children—work in brothels, night clubs, massage parlours and
private hotels.
Most sex workers have been coerced into the industry, sold by relatives or friends
or tricked by promises of well-paid jobs. Others are forced into sex work to escape desperate
poverty. One third has been trafficked into Cambodia from Vietnam or China. Sold to brothel
owners, they can only escape conditions of abuse and slavery when they have worked off
massive debts.
Most clients are Cambodian men—often members of the military police—although
sex tourists are also a significant percentage. Virgins, promoted as ‘special commodities’, are
popular with clients who believe that sex with a virgin has rejuvenating properties. Estimates of
HIV prevalence among sex workers varies from 20% (Ministry of Health) to 7% (CPU survey),
but the number of sex workers infected with HIV has certainly declined because of an increase
in condom use during commercial sex encounters.
Educating sex workers
Union Aid Abroad - APHEDA, the humanitarian overseas agency of the Australian
Council of Trade Unions (ACTU), has been working in Cambodia on HIV education and preven-
tion since the early 1990s. Its HIV work began as part of its focus on skills training for working
men and women in developing countries. Union Aid Abroad has a longstanding relationship
with leading national nongovernmental organization, the Cambodian Women’s Development
Agency (CWDA).
Documents you may be interested
Documents you may be interested
