HIV/AIDS+WORK Swaziland

30 Muwanga FT (2001) Private sector response to HIV/AIDS in Swaziland – impact, response,vulnerability and barriers to implementation of workplace HIV/AIDS prevention programmes31 Muwanga, Fred Tusuubira (August 2001). Private Sector Response to HIV/AIDS in Swaziland-Impact, Response, Vulnerability and Barriers to Implementation of workplace HIV/AIDS preventionprogrammes.32 According to the Federation of Swaziland 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.12Swaziland: HIV/AIDS work and developmentAmong others, a probability survey analysedthe impact of HIV/AIDS on the private sector,focusing on costs imposed as a result ofincreased illness and deaths from HIV/AIDS 30 .It was carried out on 45 businesses in thecountry affiliated to the Federation of SwazilandEmployers, and stratified according to numberof employees. The report also discussesthe knowledge, attitudes and practices ofbusinesses in the area of HIV/AIDS at the firmlevel.A prevalence of HIV was found in mostbusinesses in Swaziland 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 HIV/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 withHIV/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 HIV/AIDS-relatedillnesses, workers taking time off to look aftertheir sick relatives, funeral attendance andhigh labour turnover due to HIV/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 HIV. 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 HIV 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 HIV/AIDS. A study by Muwanga found thatonly few businesses had well-defined policiesto guide their HIV-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