Ensuring Enterprise Competitiveness through Occupational Safety and Health 24 25 October 2012 OSHC Complex, Diliman, Quezon City

HIV and AIDS in the Philippines

Philippines is a low prevalent country - <1% BUT we are one of the seven countries in the world where new cases are rising (Bangladesh, Armenia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan) Vulnerable groups: young adults, men having sex with men, overseas Filipino workers and their partners 84% of the HIV cases belong to the most productive age groups: 20 to 44 years old

New HIV Cases Per Month

JAN 2010 143 2011 152 2012 212 FEB MAR APR MAY JUN 130 120 154 153 109 159 172 171 184 178 274 313 233 273 295 JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV 131 108 153 104 112 204 196 253 200 212 278 272

DOH-NEC HIV/AIDS Registry August 2012

New HIV Cases Per Month

HIV and AIDS - A Workplace Issue

Stigma and discrimination
Impact to workers

Loss of income and employee benefits

HIV and AIDS - A Workplace Issue

Loss of skills and experience Reduces supply and increases cost of labor
Impact on enterprises

Falling productivity Reduced profit and investment

The Philippine AIDS Prevention and Control Act of 1998

HIV/AIDS policy and program in the workplace are compulsory (Art. 1. sec. 6) Each employer shall develop and implement workplace HIV/AIDS education and information program for all their workers (Rule 2, Sec. 15 on IRR) Education shall be integrated in the orientation, training and continuing education and other human resource development program of employers

ECOP
ECOP is the umbrella organization representing the business sector to unify employers and employers organizations in order to safeguard and enhance employers interests in all areas of labor-management relations, including social and economic policy matters affecting such relationship and to promote industrial harmony, social justice and national growth

ECOP
conducts advocacy on the prevention and elimination of HIV/AIDS in the workplace through its corporate social responsibility (CSR) thrust Conducts series of for a in selected areas of the country to make the business sector aware and informed about the issue and how it deeply concerns the workplace Issuance of the Employers Policy Statement on HIV/AIDS, which seeks to guide private companies in developing their own policy and program on HIV/AIDS

ECOP Survey
2002: only one-third of the 64 service and manufacturing industry employers have already carried out a workplace HIV/AIDS education 2010: only 41% of the responding private enterprises has a formal policy on HIV/AIDS in the workplace

ECOP Initiatives
Managing HIV/AIDS in the Workplace, Employers Handbook for Action Trainers Training Manual on Managing HIV/AIDS in the Workplace Promoting healthy lifestyle in the workplace Promoting Company Values and Healthy Lifestyles as an entry point to introduce HIV interventions in workplaces in the BPO industry

LESSONS FROM BUSINESS EXPERIENCES

What Works at the Level of Company Leadership?

Openness on the part of management (and boards) about HIV/AIDS, how it is transmitted and what can be done by individual employees to reduce risk; Support for responsible sexual behavior among employees;

What Works at the Level of Company Leadership?

Support for appropriate policies to address HIV/AIDSrelated situations that may arise in the workplace; Moral, financial and resource support by the company for prevention and care programs, both within the gates and surrounding communities A commitment to sustain programs over time

What Works in HIV/AIDS Programs?

Clear, non-technical information about HIV/AIDS for all employees, provided regularly and in a variety of formats; Peer education and peer support: using trained workers to inform one another about all aspects of HIV/AIDS; Making condoms available in the workplace and encouraging availability in shops outside the workplace;

What Works in HIV/AIDS Programs?

Diagnosing and treating STIs at workplace clinics, or encouraging workers to use effective services in the community; Creating and sustaining an environment for changes in sexual behaviorespecially focused on youth and men with regular incomes, discouraging them from coercing women or exploiting their poverty; Voluntary and confidential HIV testing and pre- and post-test counseling

What Does Not Work?

Ignoring the disease and hoping it will simply go away; Assuming that HIV/AIDS affects only a certain class or group of peoplethat it is someone elses problem; Assuming that infection is due to sinful or immoral behavior; Arguing that young people are not sexually active and do not need information on sexuality and safe sex; Infrequent prevention activities (e.g., events or publicized messages)

What Does Not Work?

Initiating an HIV/AIDS prevention program well after the disease is established in the population, then trying to catch up; Assuming that a vaccine will be developed or a cure found in the near future; Believing that because sexual relations do not occur in the workplace that the company is protected; Assuming that prevention programs are too expensive.

Conclusions
Early investments, such as in education and prevention campaigns, can considerably help reduce the spread of the epidemic among workers, their families and surrounding communities it is imperative for a business to respond to HIV/AIDS for its own benefit and that of its broader stakeholders. HIV/AIDS has become a bottom line issue for companies and for the broader business environment. Early action will reap tremendous savings in both economic and human terms.

Thank you!