1. Strengthening Trade Union Global Action on HIV/AIDS
Future strategy:
Workplace action and cooperation with civil society and other organizations
Alan Leather
GUAP

2. Key issues
Context
Current Economic Crisis /Globalisation generally/Climate Change
Rising unemployment – negative impact on union membership
Rising migration and it’s implications
Challenges to union capacity to respond:
Existing Collective Agreements under threat
Employers making unilateral decisions to reduce pay, withhold pay, and/or make workers redundant, challenging existing rights
Membership looking for leadership response

3. PLANNING What do unions need to do?
Keep HIV/AIDS as a priority on the union agenda – executive cttees, conferences
Ensure there is a union policy on HIV/AIDS – including reference to + members
Collective agreements should include clauses on HIV/AIDS

4. PLANNING
Make sure that persons are responsible for carrying out HIV/AIDS union policies
Have a resource raising strategy including putting an item in union budget for work on HIV/AIDS
Develop union training programme
Integrate HIV/AIDS in union training programmes esp. on rights, gender and OHS
Have system for monitoring progress

5. Need to strengthen the trade union voice
By forming alliances among trade unions at local, regional and national level
Sharing resources and experience through networking
Ensure there is a trade union representative on national policy making bodies eg CCMs, National AIDS Committees
Engage with employer organisations in developing joint responses to HIV/AIDS including public employers
Have strategic approach to working with other non governmental organisations

6. Issues related to cooperation with NGOs
What are the main concerns?
Do we share a similar approach to the issues at stake?
Is there enough of a basis for common understanding in order to work on some specific issues?
Are there policy issues we could work on together?
Could we share resources?
Would joint resource raising be possible?

7. Other organizations
ILO/AIDS – intensive programme of activities including HIV/AIDS focal point in many countries
UNAIDS – provides technical assistance
WHO – HIV/AIDS dedicated staff
National missions and technical assistance programmes e.g. DFID, GTZ, SIDA
World Bank – sector specific HIV/AIDS programmes in certain countries
Academic institutions – undertaking research on workplace programmes

8. Other organisations World AIDS Campaign
Recognised the role of trade unions - MoU
GUAP programme on their Global Steering Committee
Have provided some assistance to trade unions
Recently developed resource – Labour Advocacy Kit

9. Future activities
2010
Strengthen Recommendation and develop implementation strategy June ILC, Geneva
ITUC Congress – HIV/AIDS resolution, June, Canada
G8 – Universal Access by 2010, June, Canada
G20 - will it take on the G8 commitments?
International AIDS Conference, July, Vienna

10. Conclusions
Trade unions have made enormous progress but there are still some major hurdles
We need to utilise our capacity more efficiently and effectively
We need to inform a wider audience what trade unions have achieved and are achieving day to day
We need to raise the resources commensurate with our membership base.

11. Conclusions
We need to coordinate better at all levels – national, regional and global
We should look for every opportunity to unify our efforts