HIV/AIDS+WORK Swaziland
HIV/AIDS, work and development - (NERCHA), the Info Centre
HIV/AIDS, work and development - (NERCHA), the Info Centre
- No tags were found...
Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
30 Muwanga FT (2001) Private sector response to <strong>HIV</strong>/AIDS in <strong>Swaziland</strong> – impact, response,vulnerability and barriers to implementation of workplace <strong>HIV</strong>/AIDS prevention programmes31 Muwanga, Fred Tusuubira (August 2001). Private Sector Response to <strong>HIV</strong>/AIDS in <strong>Swaziland</strong>-Impact, Response, Vulnerability and Barriers to Implementation of workplace <strong>HIV</strong>/AIDS preventionprogrammes.32 According to the Federation of <strong>Swaziland</strong> Employers (FSE) 2001 register, there are 440businesses affiliated with the organization. Twenty-four companies were randomly selected forthis survey. The number of workers that each business employs ranges from 2 to over 3,000. Thesurvey included firms from diverse industrial sectors such as manufacturing, food processing,wholesale/retail, hotels, production and agro-industries.12<strong>Swaziland</strong>: <strong>HIV</strong>/AIDS work and developmentAmong others, a probability survey analysedthe impact of <strong>HIV</strong>/AIDS on the private sector,focusing on costs imposed as a result ofincreased illness and deaths from <strong>HIV</strong>/AIDS 30 .It was carried out on 45 businesses in thecountry affiliated to the Federation of <strong>Swaziland</strong>Employers, and stratified according to numberof employees. The report also discussesthe knowledge, attitudes and practices ofbusinesses in the area of <strong>HIV</strong>/AIDS at the firmlevel.A prevalence of <strong>HIV</strong> was found in mostbusinesses in <strong>Swaziland</strong> and excess morbidityand mortality due to AIDS have significantlyreduced productivity, increased productioncosts and caused disruptions in businessoperations (see Figure 10). A total of 73% ofbusinesses reported having had an employeeliving with <strong>HIV</strong>/AIDS. The group most affectedis the medium to large enterprises (250-599employees) with over 87% of companies in thisgroup having had a case of a worker living with<strong>HIV</strong>/AIDS. The study found that 33% of surveyedcompanies had experienced increased loss ofskills, with the impact being felt more by thelarger companies. The study also revealedthat 31% of the companies surveyed hadexperienced an increase in recruitment andtraining costs. Again, this was felt more acutelyin the larger enterprises.The above-mentioned impacts resultin an overall reduction in experience, skill,institutional memory and performance of theworkforce. Unit productivity is disrupted due toFigure 8. Percentage of Companies experiencing reduced productivity100%90%80%70%60%50%40%30%20%10%0%21-49 50-99 100-249250-599 >600Company size (no. of employees)Disrupted operationsIncreased production costsReduced productivityincreased staff turnover and companies incurincreased costs in recruitment and training.The main causes of reduced productivity areincreased absenteeism due to <strong>HIV</strong>/AIDS-relatedillnesses, workers taking time off to look aftertheir sick relatives, funeral attendance andhigh labour turnover due to <strong>HIV</strong>/AIDS-relateddeaths of employees (see Figures 8 and 9).The same study also found that in a privatesector company, the number of employeestaking extended sick leave was on the increase(see Figure 10). The company had a policy ofproviding 60 days’ leave for employees sufferingfrom tuberculosis. Such employees largelyaccounted for the increase in the number ofthose taking extended sick leave. The companyclinic diagnosed an average of 7 new cases oftuberculosis every year—an incidence rate of11 per 1,000 cases. Over 90% of these withTB are co-infected with <strong>HIV</strong>. The direct cost ofabsenteeism for a company was calculated atE 354,000 for the year 2001.The AIDS-specific mortality rates arestill below what has been projected. Earlierprojection estimated that the private sectorin Southern Africa would lose up to 3% ofits workforce per year to AIDS (WhitesideA and Wood G, 1993; Smart, 1999). Thistranslates into a mortality rate of 30 per 1,000employees. The highest from this study was17.21 per 1,000—far lower than the estimatedfigures. Tuberculosis and <strong>HIV</strong> co-infection areprevalent among employees (see Figure 11).In fact, a very high degree of correlation wasfound between the two diseases.ii. A business response to the epidemicMany Swazi businesses provide a widerange of employee benefits (see Table 3). But,due to the large outlay in employee benefits,businesses are vulnerable to the economicimpact of excess morbidity and mortality dueto <strong>HIV</strong>/AIDS. A study by Muwanga found thatonly few businesses had well-defined policiesto guide their <strong>HIV</strong>-prevention-and-controlprogrammes 31 . Some big businesses alsoresorted to ‘outsourcing and limited benefits’to their employees.However, many firms do provide in-housemedical benefits to employees. Apart fromthose shown in the table above, benefitsalso include retirement schemes, death-inservicebenefits, burial fees, medical care,group health insurance, disability paymentsand on-going family support. Health educationprogrammes are the only elements that arewidely implemented but these are limited toemployees and management. Another study 32