John Keells launches HIV/AIDS Workplace Policy

To mark World AIDS Day 2010, the John Keells Group announced the Group-wide adoption of an HIV/AIDS Policy following the roll-out of an HIV/AIDS Workplace Program across all their companies in Sri Lanka.

This is the first such roll-out actioned by a Sri Lankan conglomerate and could serve as a precedent to other companies.

The policy seeks to create a conducive environment for persons living with HIV and AIDS to work in and contribute to organisations, while the critical prevention aspect of the policy aims to halt the spread of the disease through behavioral change effected via ongoing education.

Chairman John Keells Group Susantha Ratnayake and top management with Deputy Director, National STD AIDS Control Program Dr. Sujatha Samarakoon (fourth from left).

It is a win-win proposition for both organisations and their employees. Hence the Group has adopted the tag line:Saving lives and livelihoods.

The policy consists of four principles, namely Recognising HIV/AIDS as a workplace issue and treating it like any other serious illness/condition affecting the workforce; Nondiscrimination in the workplace against employees on the basis of real or perceived HIV status; Confidentiality of personal data relating to a worker's HIV status; and Prevention of HIV/AIDS by promoting change of attitudes and behaviours through ongoing education and awareness programs.

The principles are based on the International Labour Organisation's code of practice on HIV/AIDS and the world of work.

As a lead up to the adoption of the Policy, a comprehensive action plan was implemented in each company of the John Keells Group in Sri Lanka, covering the following: formation of an HIV/AIDS workplace committee, training of master trainers to educate staff on HIV/AIDS, holding HIV/AIDS awareness sessions for all staff, launch of integrated internal communication plans to spread knowledge on HIV and AIDS within the workplace on an ongoing basis, and the formal adoption of the Policy in each business unit or industry sector involving all staff.

History

John Keells Group, under its CSR arm, John Keells Social Responsibility Foundation, is the first company in Sri Lanka to embark on HIV/AIDS awareness creation among varied communities.

The John Keells HIV/AIDS Awareness Campaign (HAAC) was launched in July 2005.

The awareness sessions were first conducted among its own staff, and gradually extended to include other organisations, both private and public. HAAC has educated more than 27,000 persons across Sri Lanka in the last five years.

Under an ILO initiative, John Keells' Coral Gardens Hotel Hikkaduwa was one of the first companies in Sri Lanka to adopt an HIV/AIDS workplace program on World AIDS Day 2008.

This was followed by a successful roll-out of the program across the Group's Leisure Industry Group as a lead up to World AIDS Day 2009. The two successes gave the impetus to roll-out the Program across all companies of the Group to mark World AIDS Day 2010.

The Group's commitment to combating HIV/AIDS went international when John Keells Holdings PLC became the principal local corporate sponsor for the International Congress on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific (ICAAP) held in Colombo in August 2007.

The Group encourages interested parties to contact the Foundation to hold awareness sessions to benefit their own staff.