Thoughts on members' attitudes to HIV/AIDS...

HIV/AIDS for us is no longer a stigmatised condition but an accepted reality. However progress that is possibly made in terms of public education and awareness raising programmes is sometime negated by illiteracy levels. The lack of basic understanding of the medical facts is a contributory factor in the slowness of consciousness-raising of men in particular.

In terms of women workers specifically – due to the obvious question of gender subordination/oppression and their caregiving function – their attitudes and views of HIV/AIDS are fear and withdrawal. They seem to be more alert than their male counterparts, however they do not command much power when it comes to prevention.
Mojalefa M Musi, Satawu, South Africa

We have seen some changes in attitude among our bus drivers – who have had the benefit of awareness building seminars. Unfortunately we cannot say the same for the port or airport workers. We have done a survey and distributed posters, but lack of sustainability in these programmes has been a hindrance.
 
The BWU is particularly concerned for the port and the airport workers in the light of the upcoming Caribbean Single Market and Economy (CSME), which will result in an increase in inter-island trade, beginning 2005.

Already we know that Caribbean seafarers have liaisons with multiple partners throughout the islands and the CSME will provide the perfect opportunity to increase this activity.
Wilma Clement, BWU, Barbados

At a recent seminar I attended, involving 18 organisers from six Southern African road transport affiliates, it was clear the participants saw the HIV/AIDS pandemic sweeping the sub region as not only a threat to the trade unions’ strength but also as a direct challenge to trade unions’ traditional approach to negotiation and service delivery to members.
Romano Ojiambo-Ochieng, ATGWU, Uganda; ITF HIV/AIDS coordinator for Africa

In response to concerns that seafarers visiting British ports felt that there was little risk of contracting HIV from unprotected intercourse, the Merchant Navy Welfare Board set out to provide sexual health information for seafarers in 1997. This happened in collaboration with other European partners using grants from the European Community and ITF Seafarers’Trust.

The multilingual material, sensitive to different cultural backgrounds, is designed for distribution in seafarers’ centres, or via ship visitors. It is now available for downloading and reprinting on the International Committee on Seafarers’Welfare website: www.seafarerswelfare.org
Captain David Parsons, Merchant Navy Welfare Board, UK

I am pleased to inform you that the Rwandan truckers’ union, ACPLRWA, has learned a lot from a series of training on HIV/AIDS funded by the ITF. By the end of the last workshop in Kigali last year, the trained leaders realised the importance of training union members together with their wives. Soon after, a new training seminar was planned and run, supported by Coopération Canadienne. Since then, the trained truckers’wives decided to set up their own women’s association as part of the ACPLRWA, in which they discuss their own and their husbands’ vulnerability, and plan for suitable strategies.
Genevieve Mukandekezi, ACPLRWA, Rwanda

We organised four workshops on this subject due to consistent demand from various transport unions in Mumbai. At the first workshop we wondered how successful it could be, since Indian people are not very vocal about sex and sexually transmitted diseases due to cultural restraints. The overwhelming response to the workshop proved we need not have worried. There was strong participation from from men and women employees, with many volunteering to help with subsequent workshops. It is noteworthy that women are demanding workshops for themselves, as well as for their college and school-going children. At the same time as all this, our leaders have agreed to focus on this social issue for the betterment of our society and nation.
Kalpana Desai, Transport and Dock Workers’ Union, India

Whereas many unions, including our own, do not have clearly established HIV/AIDS prevention policies or standards, the firm for which we work has guidelines covering this matter. Crews are informed of these on board vessels. The firm expressed considerable interest in what the ITF is doing and asked us if we could obtain further information. Cases of infection really are few and far between and they are handled with great discretion. As regards employment, there are no checks either on new personnel taken on or on those already employed. This is due to the existence of laws relating to employment discrimination.
Pedro Bascuñan, SOss, Chile

Our union has successfully bid for grant money from the UK’s department for international development to develop and run a series of four courses for members aged up to 35.

The third course in the series will examine the vulnerability of transport workers to HIV/AIDS and the positive effects of securing comprehensive workplace policies and collective bargaining. Each separate course will include a requirement for post course campaigning activity once students return to their workplaces.

So while at the present time TSSA has no evidence of changing attitudes towards HIV/AIDS we are certain that the outcome of our training programme will produce greater awareness and changed perspectives.
Val Stansfield, TSSA, UK