KAMPALA – East African countries are drafting a law that will criminalise the sacking of HIV positive employees. The bill also prohibits discrimination against HIV positive people in education institutions, public service, and exclusion from credit and insurance services, as well as access to healthcare.
According to section 25 (1) of the draft East African Community HIV Prevention and Management Bill 2010, persons living with or affected by HIV are entitled to enjoy, without any form of discrimination, all human rights under the law.
No person may directly or indirectly discriminate against a person living with or affected by HIV on the basis of that person’s actual or perceived HIV status.
“No person shall be denied access to any employment for which the person is qualified; or transferred, denied promotion or have the person’s employment terminated on the person’s actual, perceived or suspected HIV status,” part of the bill reads.
Section 28(1) states that an education institution shall not deny admission or expel, discipline, segregate, deny participating in any event or activity, or even deny any benefits or services to a person on grounds of that person’s actual, perceived or suspected HIV status.
If passed in its present form, the law would also prohibit compelling an individual to undergo an HIV test as a precondition to, or for continued enjoyment of employment, marriage, admission to any educational institution, entry into or travel out of a partner state and the provision of healthcare, insurance cover or any other service. Every person is entitled to privacy and confidentiality regarding their HIV status, the bill says.
PENALTIES
A person who suffers such discrimination may institute legal proceedings against the person who committed the discriminatory act to claim damages. A person convicted of an offence under the proposed Act is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years.
In case of an institution, the court will order the revocation of any business permit or licence, or in case of a person, order the revocation of a licence to practice such a person’s profession.
“I strongly support this legislation and we really need it…. But I think each government in the EAC should embrace this bill not for the sake of having it. We should have a bill that not only guides us but also makes a difference,” says UNAIDS Country Representative, Musa Bungudu, during the review of the third draft of the proposed law at Grand Imperial Hotel from February 22-23.
In December 2009, stakeholders from the five East African countries met in Arusha for a consultative meeting to review the first draft. EAC member states established a Customs Union in 2005 and are looking towards a Common Market this year, a Monetary Union by 2012, and a political confederation by 2015.
It is hoped that this Bill will finally become a uniform law in the community as borders open across the region. The bill has the support of UNAIDS, East African Law Society, the East African Community, and East Africa Network for AIDS Support Organisations (EANNASO).
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Hostile work Environment written by aos , March 11, 2010
Not only that, all forms of work related hostile habits need to be checked. Let me give you a scenario at my work place. We are exploited to the maximum. We are forced to work till late, the earliest we leave is 8:00 pm yet our contracts say 5:30 pm. Leave does not apply to the ordinary ugandan, actually any lady who gives birth is fired because the company cannot give salary for free(some one in maternity leave). We are forced to even work on public holidays including Christmas, Easter etc. You leave late for home(say 10:00 pm) and no over time or transport allowance offered yet if you report late by 10 minutes, you are threatened and salary deducted. All insults are hurled at as as being stupid ugandans who only clean toilets. Some one come to our rescue, please advice us what to do for I we have gathered enough evidence.
discrimination at work! written by Richard Gidds , March 11, 2010
surely the law must be comprehensive as it will complement the whisttleblowing law. Many CEOs collide with human resources to forge reasons of let go of anothe worker without being aware of this persons' contributions to the organisation and his attendant beneficiaries
many of his childen wont go to school and many will go hungry and government will in most cases increase cases to solve in crime etc. I feel such CEOs should be implicated like those in MSCL a microfinace company enjoys kicking out workers, it kicks out staff more when Ugandans to home and suffer as if all were incopentent,can you imagine!
It is becasue many Ugandans including me dont know our rights,where to comlain and worse off poor. Even human rights wont help since they will say thus what the contract tells them to do. It is not proper though.
When a staff disagrees with a boss, then things wont work out with that staff and the end result is for him/her to loose a job. some people ahve built monachies in work places so they think a worker is nothing to them which is bad. Human resource complance with the law in Uganda is still far from being what it should do.
Trade Unions, i still dnt know if they exist. CEO exploit this area very much to the detriment of the organisations they serve. they dont know that they are just angents and hold positions in trust to make such government organisations grow.
shame CEOs! Their boradrooms are a menace in that even the boards of directors in most cases dont know their work, they just are there for allowances. what a pitty for the Ugandan Boardrooms and committees, they need more training to gear the organisations they serve best so as to avoid future and ansty non service delivery of these organisations.
Greed is too much within state enterprises and procurement laws are regularly flouted, the workers know every step wrongly done, if not ask the procurement people in those offices and you will just observe their movements and body reactions then you will know there is a a big fish rotting in the background. Enjoy!
Time to speak out written by Matsamura Kiapi , March 14, 2010
Dear readers, I think this is the right time to air out your concerns as the EAC continues to draft laws and protocols on various aspects during this integration process.
There is also need for more involvement of citizens on their views before laws and protocols are drafted. It makes a difference.
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