HANOI, Dec 16 (AFP) - HIV carriers in Vietnam suffer severe discrimination at work, a situation that must be addressed to guarantee equality and ensure the disease is efficiently fought, the UN's International Labour Organization said Tuesday.

"When workers are not employed, lose their jobs or are isolated from their colleagues because of their HIV status ... their fundamental right to equal treatment is violated," ILO Hanoi director Rosemarie Greve said at the opening of a workshop on HIV/AIDS discrimination.

The gathering of experts , convened in the Vietnamese capital after the UN agency sponsored a study on the issue, hopes to identify the causes of discrimination and raise awareness of the effects such victimisation can have.

ILO consultant Dr. Le Bach Duong said ignorance about the disease was fuelled by the communist government's policy of stereotypically linking it to what it calls "social evils" such as drug abuse and use of prostitutes.

"There are even opinions that infected people deserve their fate and should be dismissed from their job, separated or controlled," Duong said.

The findings of a survey of 200 workers presented at the workshop revealed 70 percent believed their companies should not employ HIV/AIDS carriers, while 62.5 percent said infected people should be isolated in separate work units.

Vietnam's health ministry estimates there were more than 160,000 HIV carriers at the end of last year. Independent experts, however, say the figure could be as high as 300,000.

While intravenous drug use remains the primary mode of transmission, infections by sexual contact are on the rise, touching more frequently than before women and younger Vietnamese.

"Non-discrimination is not only the right thing to do -- it simply is good business", said Greve. "Educating workers about HIV and AIDS will help avoid costly workplace conflict.

"In a supportive workplace workers may be more willing to learn about HIV/AIDS and to get voluntarily tested".

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