Jamaican Senate Passes Motion To Prohibit HIV Testing Among Prospective Employees

The Jamaican Senate on Friday approved a motion that would change the country's labor laws to prohibit employers from screening potential employees for HIV/AIDS, the Caribbean Media Corporation reports. Senate Opposition member Dwight Nelson called the screening practice discriminatory and called on the government to amend the Labour Relations and Industrial Disputes Act to make the practice illegal. Nelson also said the practice violates the conventions of the International Labour Organization (Caribbean Media Corporation, 1/27). An amendment to the motion states that the Senate can "call upon the government to put in place the mechanisms that are necessary, including legislation to address the mischief identified by this motion." The motion was backed by Sen. Trevor Munroe, who called on the Senate to amend Jamaica's Charter of Rights to make it illegal to discriminate based on health status or disability. Nelson said he introduced the measure because many employers were not observing a memorandum of understanding issued by the Jamaica Employers' Federation that says people living with HIV/AIDS are entitled to the same rights, benefits and opportunities as those with other conditions (Campbell, Jamaica Gleaner, 1/29).

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