Survey Probes HIV/AIDS In Ports

30 November 2011

A survey examining the potential impact of HIV/AIDS among port communities – and their attitudes to it – has illustrated the need for union action and support, according to the ITF.

The survey is being released as part of a wider study of HIV/AIDS in docks and ports in time for World Aids Day, tomorrow, December 1st. The study can be seen in full at www.itfglobal.org/HIV-Aids/port-study.cfm.

The survey’s aims were:

• to gather and analyse information on the impact of HIV/AIDS in the port sector and the related trade unions;


• to increase understanding of the HIV/AIDS knowledge, perceptions and needs of ITF affiliates; and


• to prepare appropriate responses.

Its findings were that HIV/AIDS is an issue of concern in the port sector, and that, as with other transport sectors, there is a need for behavioural change and for the gaps in awareness and knowledge identified to be addressed. At least some of the onus for these tasks falls on trade unions.

The survey and findings have been included in the report HIV/AIDS, Ports and Port Workers. This includes a brief overview of HIV/AIDS in ports and docks, followed by a report on the views, activities and needs of ITF-affiliated unions in relation to the epidemic; and then the summary findings of a knowledge, attitudes and behaviour survey conducted among the members of ITF affiliates in the ports of four countries. These were Belgium (Antwerp), Guatemala (Porto Santo Thomas), Kenya (Mombasa) and India (Chennai and Mumbai). The report closes with a set of recommendations for future action by the ITF and its affiliates.

ITF dockers’ section secretary Frank Leys said: “Some transport sectors have been much more badly hit than others by HIV/AIDS, but none is immune, and anyone who ignores that fact risks letting down all those who are affected. That’s why we began this research and why we will now dedicate ourselves to doing our best to put in place the practices that it identifies as being needed by those working in the world’s ports.”

Writing in the new report, ITF HIV/AIDS coordinator Dr Asif Altaf explained the background to the research:

‘The ITF has included rights-based activities on HIV and AIDS in its services for members since 1999. By 2006 major programmes were in place for road and rail workers, and a mapping exercise conducted the next year revealed needs in other sectors as well. In order to deepen understanding and plan more appropriately, the
ITF decided to conduct surveys in the civil aviation and then the ports sectors, seeking the views of affiliated unions and carrying out a study of knowledge, attitudes and behaviour in selected countries.

‘The findings of the civil aviation survey, published in 2010, and the present survey of port workers, reveal a range of risks and needs in relation to the AIDS epidemic. Almost without exception, the unions concerned wished to start or strengthen their AIDS activities, while the individuals questioned expressed a range of fears about the disease and a desire for workplace activities for prevention and care.

‘The ITF should build on these findings, as well as its experience in other sectors, to help affiliates take action that is both institutional and very personal. This is a major challenge. At one level, affiliates need to recognise and commit to the idea that AIDS is a workplace and a union issue, one that needs to be fully mainstreamed in the union agenda to ensure action over the long-term. At the same time they must find ways to help members assess and recognise their own risk and to support them in managing and reducing it where necessary.

‘A number of the replies and comments demonstrated knowledge, understanding and tolerance, but the gaps and contradictions provide an object lesson in the importance of looking beneath the surface. Tackling misconceptions and fears is much harder than filling information gaps. The fears that appear to underlie some of the more judgemental attitudes should be addressed head on. It is significant that in all countries some workers believed themselves – rightly or wrongly – to be at risk of contracting HIV. Responses need to relate to the specifics of the local situation, including very different HIV prevalence levels, but the replies to the survey also show some of the common fears, risks and needs across the world.

‘It is also important to demonstrate the fundamental rights issues related to the epidemic, especially in its impact on labour and employment. HIV/AIDS education should not focus narrowly on sex education, or in some regions on substance abuse, but on the promotion of wellness, healthy living, gender equality, and responsibility in sexual relations. In Southern Africa, many unions are taking an increasingly strong stand to oppose gender-based violence. Many unions are finding a more comprehensive approach useful: HIV is not the sole focus and voluntary testing may include several conditions, such as diabetes and blood pressure.

‘The ITF is well placed to help the development of information, education and behaviour-change communication programmes tailored to the risks, needs and aspirations of their members. Peer education, if well used, is a powerful tool and an essential complement to the negotiation of policies and agreements.
The three key recommendations concern the need for the ITF to start HIV activities in an integrated way with the affiliates in ports and docks, including producing materials to guide their action on advocacy, collective bargaining, training and peer education; encouraging partnerships with employers and other key stakeholders; and taking advantage of the opportunities offered by international standards such as
International Labour Organization (ILO) Recommendation 200 on HIV and AIDS in the world of work and the 2011 UN general assembly declaration on HIV and AIDS.’

ENDS

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