HIV status still determines employment capability



By
NGUGI FIDELIS WANJIKU
HIV/AIDS ARTICLE
HIV/AIDS AND THE WORKPLACE
Charles (not real name) walks into a conference room for his interview, excited for the possibilities of working in a firm that has been his preference ever since he stepped into the world of business. He settles down in front of the board members, who will be taking him through the interview, and after a short session, manages to impress them with his knowledgeable and remarkable prowess in business. He passes the interview and as the firm’s policy, he is required to fill a contract form and to his utter discomfort, he finds an entire page on the contract that requires him to give details on his medical condition and attach a copy of his recent medical checkup. His fingers tremble in hesitation over the signature line, bewildering the board by closing the booklet containing the contract, sliding it towards them and hurrying out of the room in a flood of apologies.
Such an ordeal, picked out of listless others, depicts what people with HIV virus go through, when they venture out to seek jobs or, when new policies are introduced into the work place. This is because some employers as well as employees at the workplace stigmatize people with the virus. Employers may view them as ineffective as they may require days off for their medical checkups or as a risk of infection to other employees or clientele. Fellow employees may use the information that one of their colleagues has the HIV virus to start a rumor which may psychologically, affect the person with the HIV virus and lead them to underperform their duties. HIV, Human Immunodeficiency Virus, is a virus that is spread through certain body fluids (such as blood and vaginal secretions) and affects the human body by attacking its immune system, specifically the CD4 cells (T cells). AIDS, Acquired Immunodeficiency syndrome, is the last and most severe stage of the HIV virus infection.
In the workplace, a person who has the HIV virus can choose to disclose his/her status, which can have negative and positive response. A positive result can be a good channel for the person with the HIV virus to get support from the co-workers and the administration while the negative effect arises when the person with the HIV virus may be being treated differently or getting stigmatized by everyone in the workplace. Discriminating people with HIV/AIDS can take many forms which include; victimization which is unfair treatment of an HIV-positive employee who has made a complaint about harassment in the workplace; direct discrimination, when an employer treats an HIV-positive employee less favorably than others; indirect discrimination, conditions or rules in the workplace disadvantage HIV-positive employee; associative discrimination, when a person suffers discrimination because of their association with a person who has been diagnosed with HIV; harassment, offensive or intimidating behavior intended to make a person’s existence in the workplace difficult.
People living with the HIV/AIDS virus may face discrimination in a variety of employment sectors, e.g., when an employer who has a restaurant learns that one of the chefs has the HIV virus, they often tend to fire the employee, thinking that the reputation of the restaurant may decline for having a 'fatally' sick person in the workplace.  Others, like those working in jobs that require a lot of strenuous activities like masonry, farm work, construction; will opt to give the employees work that involves paperwork than in the field as they see that due to their condition, they can’t work effectively as the employers requires. In Charles ordeal, as many others, he chose to walk away because it was his fifth try at applying a job and despite his brilliance and skill, he wasn’t called back as he was promised. Such people end up jobless, if they don’t come across an accepting society, or they aren’t motivated to begin their own venture.
                 As a way to curb this situation, many governments and NGO's have introduced policies that help protect the rights of people living with HIV/AIDS while also creating awareness programs that educate the employer and employees on how to best live with people with HIV/AIDS in the workplace.


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