Trade Unions and HIV/AIDS

The Federation of Unions of South Africa (FEDUSA) will be picketing against HIV/AIDS discrimination in the workplace tomorrow afternoon at 13h00, 1 Park Road, Richmond, Johannesburg. FEDUSA joins the calls of the International Trade Union Council (ITUC) and SECTION 27, a South African human rights organisation, in urging the authorities of Qatar to end discrimination on grounds of HIV status in their country.

“Our organisation could not believe that a South African journalist was dismissed, detained and deported from Qatar simply on the grounds of his HIV positive status,” said FEDUSA General Secretary, Dennis George.

The journalist, who wishes not to be named, underwent medical tests in order to attain his work permit, but was not informed of the nature of the tests, or informed of the results. On discovery of his HIV positive status his employer, Al Jazeera, ensured he was detained in Doha State Prison, dismissed and immediately deported. The journalist was only informed of his status upon returning to South Africa.

FEDUSA is both shocked and concerned about this humiliating violation of human rights and will join the protest outside of the Al Jazeera offices to show its support for the intervention of the ITUC in this regard.

The applicable laws in Qatar do not align with international standards, and rather than promoting non-discrimination in recruitment and continued employment on the grounds of HIV status, they do not prohibit discrimination or dismissal on such grounds. The laws of Qatar allow the detainment and deportation of any individual who may be a threat to public health. The ITUC has written a letter to the Emir of the State of Qatar and to the Minister of Labour of Qatar urging the government to ensure that they introduce the necessary policies to extend protection to workers on the grounds of real or perceived HIV status.

FEDUSA’s HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted infections (STI) workplace policy, adopted at our National Congress in 2008, acknowledges that HIV and AIDS are “surrounded by ignorance, prejudice, discrimination and stigma” and that “in the workplace, unfair discrimination against people living with HIV and AIIDS has been perpetuated through practices such as; pre-employment HIV testing, dismissals for being HIV positive and the denial of employee benefits”.

“It is therefore one of our primary objectives is to promote equality and non-discrimination between individuals affected and infected with HIV/AIDS. FEDUSA believes this incident must be brought to an international audience and pressure applied for Qatar to change is discrimination policies and the journalist reinstated. ,” said George.

Despite numerous letters and appeals, the government of Qatar and the management of Al Jazeera have not yet responded, for this reason there will be a picket outside the Al Jazeera offices in Johannesburg today to hand over a memorandum outlining the demand for re-instatement and a formal recognition of the violation of the aggrieved journalist’s rights.

 ENDS -

FEDUSA is the largest politically non-aligned trade union federation in South Africa and represents a diverse membership from a variety of sectors in industry. See www.fedusa.org.za for more information.

For more information:

Dennis George (General Secretary) 084 805 1529 011 279 1800

Anja Muller-Deibicht (Media & Communication Officer) 073 713 6173

SECTION 27: Nikki Stein (Attorney) 011 356 4118 stein@section27.org.za

All Africa: Seeking Justice for HIV-Positive Journalist (09.02.2012) Source:http://allafrica.com/stories/201202090724.html By Khopotso Bodibe, 9 February 2012

Human rights and civil society groups will picket the Qatari news network, Al Jazeera, next week to call for the reinstatement of a South African journalist who was thrown out of Qatar after it was found that he has HIV.

The case of a South African journalist known only as MR as he wants his identity concealed at this stage has gained the support of the Geneva-based International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC). The ITUC has joined the chorus of voices calling for Al Jazeera to re-employ MR, who was dismissed and ordered to leave Qatar after one of the medical checks he had to undergo to get a work permit showed that he had HIV. MR was never informed of the nature of the medical tests he had to have done. The ITUC has written a letter to the emir of Qatar demanding the reinstatement of MR. In October 2010, MR had been employed as one of five senior editors by Al Jazeera, which is owned by the State of Qatar. MR’s attorney, Nikki Stein, from Section 27, says at the time of his dismissal, he was due to be promoted to the position of managing editor.

"A new post of managing editor was being created and once it had been created he would be appointed to fill that post. He would then be supervising the other five senior editors within Al Jazeera and the duties of managing editor could be performed anywhere. We believe that one of the managing editors appointed subsequent to his dismissal has been performing his functions from London and, so, there is no reason that MR could not perform his duties from South Africa", according to Stein.

She adds that "MR was never informed why he was dismissed". It was only when he arrived back in South Africa that he discovered that his dismissal was because he has HIV.

Qatar is one five countries in the world, including Egypt, Iraq, Singapore and the Turkish Islands, that do not allow entry of any foreign nationals who have HIV.

"Al Jazeera, we believe, is relying on that in justifying the dismissal of MR. But, according to the principles of reasonable accommodation they could have accommodated this obstacle to his employment and allowed him to perform his duties from elsewhere", Stein says.

She says there is a massive gap in the protection and care of people living with HIV in Qatari law, which amounts to discrimination.

"Qatari law does not prevent discrimination on the basis of HIV status. Qatari law does not prevent dismissal on the basis of HIV status. There’s no prohibition on forced medical testing, no safe-guards in place to ensure that you get the informed consent of patients who are being tested for HIV and there are no measures in place to ensure, for example, reasonable accommodation of people living with HIV, no continued care and support services for those people".

"The laws actually allow the Minister of the Interior to deport people who pose a threat to public health, which gives him an extremely wide discretion.

And they also allow the Minister, if deportation is not immediately possible to detain foreign nationals who pose a threat to public health for what seems to us to be an indefinite period", she explains.

This is in spite of the fact that Qatar has ratified the International Labour Organisation’s Convention on Discrimination.

"It’s an ILO Convention called the Discrimination Employment and Occupation Convention 111 of 1958, which prohibits discrimination on a number of listed grounds. Our argument is that those grounds should include HIV. There is a recommendation on the treatment of workers with HIV as well as a code of practice. The Discrimination Convention should include a prohibition on discrimination based on HIV status to safe-guard employees against discrimination on those grounds. Qatar has failed to comply with its international law obligations", says Stein.

Despite letters by the International Trade Union Confederation and Section 27 requesting the re-employment of MR, the emir of Qatar and Al Jazeera management have not responded. Next Tuesday Section 27 will picket the Al Jazeera offices in Johannesburg to register concern over the matter.

"Al Jazeera is wholly-owned by the Qatar Media Corporation, which is in turn wholly-owned by the State of Qatar. So, although it is not a State, it is a state-owned entity and, as such, the conduct of the officials within Al Jazeera is sanctioned by the State of Qatar. We will then hand over a memorandum to Al Jazeera setting out our demands for re-instatement and a formal recognition of the violation of our client’s rights. We’ve got the full backing of COSATU and the ITUC. We’ve got the full backing of government and, particularly, the Department of Labour, and we will continue to exert pressure", Stein says.

The Telegraph: Journalist tested for HIV without knowledge as he moved to Qatar Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/qatar/8932093/Journalist-tested-for-HIV-without-knowledge-as-he-moved-to-Qatar.html By By Aislinn Laing A South African journalist who moved to Qatar after landing a job with Al Jazeera was tested for HIV without his knowledge and deported from the country when the results came back positive. The man, who has not been identified, agreed to undergo medical tests at the request of the company when he moved to the Gulf state to take up an editor’s post at the Qatari broadcaster’s English channel in October 2010.

A month later, he was summoned to a meeting in the offices of al Jazeera where he was told his visa application had been denied and he was being deported. No reason was given.

The man, an experienced journalist who moved to the country alone, was taken by car to Doha Prison where he was put in a crowded cell and subjected to a full-body medical examination in front of other detainees.

When he was released after nearly a day’s detention, he was told that his al Jazeera contract had been terminated and he should leave Qatar within 48 hours or face arrest.

When the man returned to South Africa, he underwent further medical tests and found out that he was HIV positive. Qatar is one of five countries that restricts people living with HIV/Aids from its residency rules.

The man said he was demanding his job back without success. "I have not been contacted by anyone in management from al Jazeera since I was deported," he said. "I really simply want my job back, a job I can actually do from the Johannesburg offices of al-Jazeera."

Section 27, a South African human rights group that has taken up the man’s case, plans to take legal action against the Qatari government and Al Jazeera on the basis that they violated international workers’ rights.

Umunyana Rugege, a lawyer for Section 27, said that the man had an HIV test before he left South Africa and it came back negative.

"He only found out he was HIV positive when he returned to South Africa which was very traumatic in itself without having the extreme violation of his human rights," she said.

Section 27 will argue that the man’s rights were violated when he was tested for HIV without his consent after voluntarily undergoing a blood test, and when his results were disclosed to his employers and immigration authorities without his agreement.

"We have written to the Qatari government and al Jazeera requested that he be reinstated, with the conditions including that he work in South Africa because he cannot return to Qatar because of his HIV status," Miss Rugege said.

The Qatari embassy in South Africa refused to comment but al Jazeera it had complied with employment law. An al Jazeera spokesman said: "Any employee moving to a new country has to pass the immigration requirements there."