Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2009. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Bangkok Post - March 22, 2009
Penchan Charoensuthipan
However, the overall HIV situation in Thailand has dramatically improved, according to Somsak Akkasilp, deputy director-general of the ministry's Disease Control Department.
Between 2004 and last year, there were about 20,000 HIV infections per year compared with 100,000 cases per year previously.
But people on low incomes are slipping through the net. Because of the economic downturn, many low-paid workers are experiencing a difficult period as employers have slashed the overtime which they depend on, according to the ministry.
Workers are living on a pittance but still must save money. As a result, they cannot afford to visit a doctor or pay medical bills. And in some cases, they cannot even afford to buy condoms, Mr Somsak said. Data from the Public Health Ministry showed that in 2007, Ranong and Samut Prakan ranked first and second in the country for HIV infections.
In Samut Prakan's case, it was because the province was home to large numbers of migrant workers, many of whom were single and therefore at a greater risk of contracting HIV.
Kanchana Thewasilchaikul, head of a labour welfare division of the Labour Protection and Welfare Department, said the Labour Ministry has drawn up a set of guidelines to ensure employers respect the rights of HIV-infected workers and do not discriminate against them.
If those workers receive proper treatment to help them stay fit and healthy, they would remain an efficient workforce, Mrs Kanchana said.
At present, about 8,000 companies and factories across the country have agreed to comply with the ministry's guidelines and promised they would not violate workers' rights nor discriminate against or pressure HIV-infected workers to quit their jobs. Yoshio Takahashi, executive director-general of the Japan International Labour Foundation (Jilaf), said that HIV-infected people were mostly workers and that a lot of them were sacked after they were found to have contracted the virus.
He said some employers have workers take blood tests to find and dismiss HIV-infected people. This was a breach of labour rights, Mr Takahashi added.
Jilaf is now providing technical and financial support for a three-year project to educate the leaders of Thailand's labour groups about HIV/Aids.
They in turn are expected to pass this on to workers and communities, particularly those in Samut Prakan with a large migrant labour population.
Thawatchai Promcharoen, secretary-general of the Labour Congress of Thailand, welcomed Jilaf's move, saying it was the first time the Japanese government had provided assistance to Thai workers through labour organisations.
He was confident the project would help promote the right understanding of HIV/Aids and would dispel the prejudice against HIV-infected people in the workplace.
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