From the South African Clothing Union
HIV/AIDS: SACTWU TESTS ALMOST 30 000 WORKERS
The Southern African Clothing & Textile Workers' Union (SACTWU) held its first National Executive Committee meeting for this year from 24-26 March 2010 in Cape Town. Our NEC received a number of important national organisational-, economic-, socio-economic- and political reports. Over the next few days, the SACTWU General Secretary will release the summary content of some of the most important reports and decisions of the recently concluded SACTWU NEC.
Program (SWHP) to combat HIV/Aids, specifically the work completed in 2009 and planned for 2010.
The NEC received a report on the union's work in the HIV/Aids arena in the clothing, textile and leather sectors, evaluated the outcomes of this work for 2009 and agreed on the priorities for 2010 . In summary, the report tabled to the SACTWU NEC showed the following national outcomes for 2009:
* a total of 29 329 SACTWU members have received Voluntary Couseling & Testing (VCT) through the SWHP (in 2008, the figures were 10,439);
* the SWHP has reached 155 284 workers (some more than once) in more than 1000 workplaces with a targeted workplace-based HIV/AIDS prevention awareness message;
* 265 workers have been initiated onto our ARV pilot project;
* more than 1000 shop stewards have been trained in a range of
HIV/Aids awareness-, treatment- and prevention skills;
* an SWHP-run Wellness Clinic was launched in Cape Town in October
2009, providing testing and support services for VCT, blood pressure, sugar levels, TB testing and female wellness screening such as pap smears;
* 81 unemployed previous SACTWU members have been trained as Home-based Carers and a total of 4 447 home care visits were conducted;
* our HIV/AIDS awareness Drama Group has conducted 212 performances at 72 schools covering 33 936 learners in communities where our members reside;
* the Sactwu Fashion Design Institute (Safdi) ran a Condom Fashion Design Competition targeting young workers with a "Condoms are Fashionable" message: 50 000 colour condoms were used to manufacture fashion garments which were first modelled to 10 000 union members attending the SACTWU 2009 Spring Queen Fashion Pageant held in the Good Hope Centre in November last year;
* the run-up to World Aids Day 2009 saw on a month-long VCT focus program, culminating in a lucky draw competition for those union members who had participated, with the winners in each of the union's 5 regions winning a flat screen TV;
* strategic parnerships were strengthened with a number of Provincial Health Departments;
* 411 756 condoms (388 962 male and 22 794 female) were distributed;
* 352 new condom distribution outlets were set up in establishments (such as factories and union offices) accessed regularly by SACTWU members;
* support groups for HIV-positive members were rolled out in all 5 of the union's regions;
* 329 workers received social work-related support;
* 24 HIV positive members registered on the union's R10m strong HIV/Aids Benevolent Fund;
* more than 1000 booklets covering the clothing industry HIV/Aids workplace policy entitled "Code of Good Practice on Key Aspects of HIV/Aids and Employment Within the Clothing Manufacturing Industry of South Africa" were distributed to SACTWU shop stewards and they were trained on its content;
* a national HIV/Aids policy for the textile sector was negotiated in the National Textile Bargaining Council (NTBC). It was submitted to the Minister of Labour for gazettal. It was gazetted and extended to cover all
workers, employers and companies covered by the scope of the NTBC.
For 2010, the union's NEC resolved to firstly support government's new campaign to be launched in April this year to test 15 million South Africans, secondly to strengthen the HIV/AIDS related support, prevention
and treatment services the SWHP had provided during 2009 and thirdly, to launch a second mobile clinic focusing on our HIV/Aids work to operate in the Illembe and Ugu Districts in KZN.
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