1. International Training Centre of the ILO
A Trade Union Training on Occupational Health and Safety and HIV/AIDS (Inter-regional Course: Africa and the Caribbean) (Turin, 27 September to 8 October 2010)
Orientation Session
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2. Aims of Orientation Session
To understand the objectives and expected outcomes of the workshop.
To review and confirm the workshop programme (timetable).
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3. International Training Centre of the ILO
Background
Protection of workers against work-related accidents and diseases has been a major concern for the ILO since its establishment in 1919.
This concern is demonstrated by the number of instruments that have been adopted by the ILO to guide its work on OSH, HIV/AIDS and related matters.
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4. International Training Centre of the ILO
Background
The process of globalisation accelerates economic and social integration, which in turn leads to the emergence of new risks of work-related accidents and diseases.
New types and patterns of work, new technologies and methods for production, and tough pressure for competition are contributing factors increasing the number of work-related accidents and diseases.
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5. International Training Centre of the ILO
Background
Work must be safe and healthy for it to be regarded and accepted as decent.
The ILO estimates that the global fatality level of work-related injuries and diseases is 2.3 million annually.
For occupational accidents, both fatal and non-fatal, the overall estimated annual figure is 337 million.
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6. International Training Centre of the ILO
Background
Some 160 million workers suffer from work-related diseases.
In 2003, the ILO discussed and adopted at the 91st Session of the ILC, “A Global Strategy on OSH,” to respond to the growing needs of its Constituents.
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7. International Training Centre of the ILO
Background
Two main actions identified and agreed upon by delegates in the said strategy are:
- To build and maintain national, preventative, safety and health cultures.
- To apply a systems approach to national occupational safety and health management.
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8. International Training Centre of the ILO
Background
The development and effective implementation of national safety and health programmes, ratification and application of OSH Conventions (C.155 and C.161) are key to the successful implementation of the above-mentioned actions.
Trade unions must remain an integral part of the national efforts, standing at the forefront of the national programmes and actions on OSHE and the fight against the HIV/AIDS pandemic.
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9. International Training Centre of the ILO
Background
According to the latest data jointly published by UNAIDS and the WHO in 2008, about 33.4 million people are living with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.
Adults and children accounted for 31.3 million and 2.1 million respectively of the 33.4 million HIV/AIDS infection worldwide in 2008.
Sub-Saharan Africa is home to 22.4 million people living with HIV or AIDS and it is the most affected region in terms of numbers of infections and the scale of the pandemic’s impact.
International Training Centre of the ILO

10. International Training Centre of the ILO
Background
Millions of HIV-positive people have no access to treatment, millions more are at high risk of infection and there are disturbing signs of increasing incidence in several countries.
Young people under the age of 25 years are estimated to account for more than half of all new HIV infections worldwide.
About 2 million people died in 2008 as a result of AIDS-related illnesses and approximately 1.4 million (i.e. about ¾) of these deaths occurred in Sub-Saharan Africa.
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11. International Training Centre of the ILO
Background
More than 25 million people have died of AIDS since 1981.
Globally, around 11% of HIV infections are among babies who acquire the virus from their mothers; 10% result from drug use through injection; % are due to sex between men; 5 -10% occur in healthcare settings, and the remaining proportion (around two-thirds) of new infection occurs through sex between men and women.
International Training Centre of the ILO

12. International Training Centre of the ILO
Background
Sub-Saharan Africa is the most and worst affected region in the world (accounting for 67% or 2/3 of HIV infection), followed by East, South and South-East Asia, which is home to about 14% of people living with HIV.
Statistics for other regions: The Caribbean and Latin America (6%), Middle East and North Africa (4.5%), Eastern Europe and Central Asia (4.5%), North America (4%), Western and Central Europe (2.5%) and Oceania (1%).
The transmission of the HIV virus takes place along “social lines” created by poverty, inequality and social injustice.
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13. International Training Centre of the ILO
Background
As such, the devastation from HIV/AIDS is not spread equally around the world, as 90% of people with HIV are living in circumstances of economic and social hardship.
Also, the gravity of the pandemic is linked directly to social and gender inequality, including especially the disempowerment of women, young people, migrants, the unemployed and refugees.
Access to needed services to tackle the HIV/AIDS pandemic remains low overall and uneven around the world.
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14. International Training Centre of the ILO
Background
For instance, in developing and transitional countries, 9.5 million people are in immediate need of life saving drugs; of these, only 4 million (42%) are receiving the anti retroviral drugs (ARVs).
Undoubtedly, the HIV/AIDS pandemic is one of the most critical workplace issues in our time.
The trade union movement (TUM) is convinced that the workplace is a key battleground in the struggle against the HIV/AIDS scourge.
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15. International Training Centre of the ILO
Background
The employers’ and workers’ organisations have a specific role in promoting and supporting national and international efforts on HIV/AIDS in and through the world of work.
The Recommendation concerning HIV and AIDS and the World of Work (R.200), adopted by an overwhelming majority of the ILO delegates in June 2010, establishes the importance of action at the workplace, including:
- Voluntary testing and counselling
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16. International Training Centre of the ILO
Background
- Protection against discrimination
- Need for engagement with those most vulnerable and at risk.
The trade unions worldwide have reaffirmed the importance of the ILO’s role in addressing the workplace aspects of HIV/AIDS based on a rights-oriented approach.
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17. International Training Centre of the ILO
Background
Also, the trade unions have reaffirmed their support for working together with the World AIDS Campaign to hold governments accountable for the HIV/AIDS-related commitments, especially the provision of the necessary resources to achieve universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support.
The trade unions are deeply concerned at the impact of the global financial and economic crisis on development and thus on combating HIV/AIDS.
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18. International Training Centre of the ILO
Background
Another critical challenge in our time is climate change.
Changes in climatic conditions as a result of the emission of green house gases (CO2, CH4 and N2O) into the atmosphere has led to global warming.
Global warning has in the last decade given rise to extreme weather events including flooding, drought, cyclone and heat-waves that have had devastating consequences on the environment and humanity.
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19. General Objective of the Workshop
Strengthen trade unions’ capacities to:
- Prevent, control and mitigate the impact of work-related accidents and diseases.
- Combat the spread and mitigate the impacts of the HIV/AIDS scourge.
- Contribute to a realisation of a sound, safe and healthy working environment for all.
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20. Specific Objectives of the Workshop
Build a common understanding of the situation and challenges facing trade unions regarding work-related accidents and diseases and the HIV/AIDS pandemic and develop strategies to overcome them.
Strengthen trade unions’ capacities for preventing, controlling and mitigating the effects of work-related accidents, diseases and the HIV/AIDS pandemic.
International Training Centre of the ILO

21. Specific Objectives of the Workshop
Improve participants’ understanding of the setting up of the ILO’s standards and the use of its procedures and supervisory mechanisms for promoting workers’ rights, especially those guaranteed under the instruments governing OSH and HIV/AIDS.
Think about how to mainstream gender issues in the field of OHSE and HIV/AIDS.
Understand the connection between labour migration and HIV/AIDS.
International Training Centre of the ILO

22. Specific Objectives of the Workshop
Popularise the HIV and AIDS Recommendation 2010.
Evaluate progress in the implementation of Joint ILO/WHO guidelines on Health Services and HIV/AIDS.
Discuss trade unions’ response to the challenge of climate change and environmental pollution in in Africa.
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23. Key Issues to be Discussed
OSHE and HIV/AIDS in the era of globalisation and the global financial and economic crisis.
Joint ILO/WHO guidelines on Health Services and HIV/AIDS.
Legal aspects pertaining to the implementation of the ILO Recommendation concerning HIV and AIDS and the World of Work.
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24. Key Issues to be Discussed
HIV/AIDS, the informal economy, labour migration and the debate for establishing a minimum social floor for all.
National workplace policies on HIV/AIDS and the World of Work: principles, processes and the role of trade unions in the context of the new ILO Recommendation.
International Training Centre of the ILO

25. Key Issues to be Discussed
Reflections on trade unions’ action and strategies on OSHE and HIV/AIDS pandemic.
Mainstreaming gender issues in OSHE and HIV/AIDS.
The role of ILO’s standards and supervisory mechanisms in preventing, controlling and mitigating the effects of occupational accidents, diseases and HIV/AIDS.
International Training Centre of the ILO

26. Key Issues to be Discussed
Monitoring and evaluating HIV/AIDS programme at the workplace.
Application of information and communication technologies ( , internet, data-base) to build effective networks of trade unionists around the struggle for safe and healthy working conditions for all.
Action Plan and Way Forward.
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27. Main Outcomes Expected
Establishment of a clearer perspective on how OSHE and HIV/AIDS are key components of the response to the current economic and job crisis brought about by neo-liberal policies that drive the globalisation process.
Definition of roles for the expanded regional trade unions’ networks of OSHE and HIV/AIDS focal persons in regions.
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28. Main Outcomes Expected
Clear knowledge about the content and scope of ILO Recommendation and its application at the national and workplace levels.
Development of Action Plans.
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29. International Training Centre of the ILO
Methodology
The workshop aims to be participatory and will involve extensive group work.
Therefore be active and participative in all activities throughout the workshop.
Your experience would not only inform everyone but also enable all of us to come up with Action Plans that would be workable and relevant.
Feedback is welcome on a daily basis!
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30. International Training Centre of the ILO
Evaluation
There would be a weekly and an end of workshop evaluation sessions that will enable us make necessary adjustments on the programme, identify what worked and did not work well, and why?.
Post-workshop evaluation based on actions taken by participants and their trade unions at regional and national levels.
International Training Centre of the ILO