Sunday Times (Johannesburg) - May 18, 2003
Gaenor Vaida

The report says other forms of discrimination include pre-employment testing, unfair dismissal, demotion, denial of insurance benefits, salary cuts and harassment.

Other countries accused of discriminating against HIV-positive workers are Brazil, Ivory Coast, France, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Jamaica, Mexico, Thailand, Uganda and the US.

"The pressures and hostility towards HIV-positive workers are sometimes such that they feel compelled to resign, even though they have not been formally dismissed," notes the report, which is titled Time for Equality at Work.

HIV/Aids discrimination is just one of many kinds identified by the organisation. Other forms of discrimination are based on:

Sex. Many women have lower salaries, less work security and higher unemployment;

Disability. Disabled people are denied access to training, education and employment. In many developing countries, 80% or more of disabled people are unemployed;

Race. Claims that foreign cultures "may have disruptive effects on the integrity of national identities" have replaced older beliefs of racial superiority. Migrant workers, foreign citizens and second- and third-generation migrant workers are often regarded as foreigners, and face discrimination;

Religion. Discrimination ranges from ignorance and disrespect for religious and dress customs, to forcing employees to work on religious holidays, denial of business licences and bias in employment and promotion;

Age. Types of discrimination include age limits on hiring, limiting access to training, enforced early retirement, and claims that potential employees are too experienced or lack career potential.

The report goes on to note that many people face more than one type of discrimination. "People who suffer several forms of discrimination tend to be over-represented among the poor, particularly the chronic poor, and in the informal economy," it says.

Juan Somavia, the ILO 's director-general, says a failure to address discrimination could end up destabilising peace and democracy.

"Failure to deal with discrimination at work will mean greater difficulty in dealing with the challenges posed by increasing migration, unprecedented technological change, the social dimension of globalisation and the need to accommodate diversity."

The report adds that eliminating discrimination in the workplace can help to combat stereotypes within society at large.

"A socially inclusive world of work helps to prevent and to redress social fragmentation, racial and ethnic conflict, and gender inequalities."

In many cases, those suffering from discrimination face a continuous equality gap, even though there may be anti-discrimination laws and policies that help their peers.

For example, the report looks at the results of affirmative action policies in Malaysia, Brazil, South Africa and the US.

Malaysia, which introduced its policy in 1970, has narrowed the income gap between its three ethnic groups. However, the Bumiputras, who constitute 62% of the population, are still "seriously under-represented in the professional and technical categories and in the private manufacturing and service sectors."

The report is even more critical of South Africa's policies. While the number of black managers and black businesses as a percentage of the JSE's value rose, so has black unemployment . The report adds that "employment practices favouring white workers are still practised through informal screening devices".

Countries that have succeeded in ending one type of discrimination have not overcome others. For example, the report praises the US for combating sexual discrimination (as have Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, Slovenia and Sweden) but severely criticises the Land of the Free for racial discrimination.

It notes that "nearly 150 years after the end of slavery, substantial differences still exist between blacks and whites in unemployment, wage, health and mortality, as well as in incarceration rates. Although a middle class of African Americans has emerged, African Americans still comprise a disproportionate part of the American underclass."

Somavia says problems differ from country to country and group to group, but it is important to remain aware of the problem.

"Eliminating discrimination at work is everybody's responsibility," he says, calling on governments, employers, and those facing discrimination to constantly be on the lookout and to report discrimination.

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