Kenyan Government Developing Policy To Address HIV/AIDS in Workplace, Official Says
The Kenyan government plans to develop a policy to address HIV/AIDS in the workplace, Mark Bor, secretary of the Ministry of Labour and Human Resource Development, said on Sunday at the opening of a two-day seminar in Mombasa, Kenya, Kenya's Daily Nation reports. According to Bor, a series of workshops are scheduled to be held to develop the policy.
Bor said the government is committed to ensuring that no employee is discriminated against on the basis of his or her HIV status. He added that there is no justification to compel job applicants or employees to disclose their HIV status and other personal information about co-workers. "Access to personal data relating to a worker's HIV status should be bound by rules of confidentiality, consistent with" the International Labour Organization "code of practice on protection of workers' personal data," Bor said.
According to Bor, all employees, including those who are HIV-positive and their dependants, are entitled to affordable health care and access to benefits from statutory social security programs without fear of discrimination. Five bills -- the Labor Institutions, Employment, Labor Relations, Work Injury Benefits, and Occupational Health and Safety measures -- that aim to restructure the labor sector are before Parliament awaiting debate, Bor said, adding, "The bills have gone through the first and second reading, and they are awaiting the third reading before being finally approved" (Daily Nation, 8/6).