SATAWU World Aids Day Message

[Rea Molopyane]

 

 

SATAWU World Aids Day Message

1 December 2011

 

South African law protects the rights of employees living with HIV/AIDS on paper, but the reality is that discrimination and denial still prevails in the workplace. We have the best legal frameworks around but this hasn't changed mind-sets.  Although indications are that levels of HIV infections in South Africa have not been growing over the last few years, there is great concern that too many citizens continue to get infected. We still have far too many new HIV infections on an annual basis. And we still have an extremely and unacceptably high HIV prevalence.

 

South Africa is one of the countries most severely affected by the AIDS epidemic, with the largest number of HIV infections in the world. UNAIDS estimated that in 2009, the total number of persons living with HIV in South Africa was 5.7 million. On World Aids Day 2009, under the theme “I am responsible, we are responsible, South Africa is taking responsibility”, the President announced new policies and measures to tackle HIV/AIDS; SATAWU calls on South Africans to embrace that call of knowing their HIV status through the HIV Counselling and Testing (HCT) campaign launched in April 2010. We call on the Department of Health to continue to make AIDS a top priority for public action at national level and continually showing results on the ground (i.e. are we making a difference in reducing the number of mothers dying of HIV-related illness, stopping babies being born with HIV etc.).

 

It must be stated that there is some hope that AIDS/HIV deaths are on the decline. According to UNAIDS, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, "In 2010, there were 1.8 million AIDS-related deaths, lower than the 2.2 million in 2005."

 

In the next 5 years, SATAWU will launch the HIV/AIDS campaign in all its sectors. The campaign's major thrusts will focus on:

 

• Prevention of the further spread of the epidemic (through public awareness and safe sex education campaigns and the promotion of the use of condoms).
• Education to counteract the high level of prejudice against people living with AIDS/HIV (by putting in place policy to protect people living with the disease) so that people can disclose their medical status without fear and prejudice, and receive the support and care they need.

 

The Road Freight industry

This sector was targeted first as it is generally regarded as the highest risk sector in the Transport industry due to the long periods of time that truckers spend away from home and the high mobility of its workers. Furthermore, for obvious reasons, the spread of HIV/AIDS across the world follows transport corridors (be they land, sea or air).

 

SATAWU reiterates its clarion call to the Department of Transport to bring back "Trucking Against AIDS", a prevention and education programme,  launched by the previous Ministry of Transport in 1999. It  should be  housed in the bargaining council of the Road Freight industry and is supported by a steering committee from the industry and unions.  SATAWU would like to see employers training workers who will start peer educator programmes in trucking companies and management training workshops to sensitise them on prevention, policy and care issues. The peer educators from the companies will then educate colleagues and fellow workers at the truck stops.

 

The Rail sector

Transnet and PRASA are ideally placed to organise major public awareness campaigns on trains and stations to target the millions of people who use their facilities daily. SATAWU will liaise with them in the next year on common projects in order to work together in launching our  HIV/AIDS campaign. We hope to work together with Transnet & PRASA on a station-based campaign targeted at the daily rail commuter. 

 

Ports and Shipping

SATAWU urges the Maritime Training Board to set up a project similar to Trucking Against AIDS where unions will play an active role in it.

 

Passenger Transport

We are saying to the Department of Transport, what are you doing about passenger transport? Surely a mass public awareness campaign at stations, bus terminals and taxi ranks would be important if we are to win the fight against AIDS?

 

Finally SATAWU has emphasised the imperative of working together across companies in the transport sector and sharing resources rather than attempting to fight this pandemic on a piecemeal, in-house, company-to-company basis. We must strategically target our resources to have an impact and to get quicker results.

 

The 23rd anniversary of World AIDS Day reminds us all of a sobering fact: millions of people are living with HIV/AIDS and countless others do not know they are infected. There is no cure for HIV/AIDS, but early detection and treatment regimens can slow the progression of HIV to AIDS.

 

This World Aids Day, SATAWU challenges all its members, officer bearers and all South Africans to answer this question: Do you know your status?

 

 

Contact:

Mamokgethi Rea Molopyane

SATAWU National Spokesperson

Cell: 082 395 0907

Landline: 011 333 6127

E-mail: r...@satawu.org.za

Twitter: @Reagoikanya