Employment
legislation generally prohibits discrimination against employees (potential and
current) on the basis of gender, sex, creed etc. Various UN and ILO conventions
maintain that pre-employment medical examinations can only be justified in the
context of strict job related demands and for the management of health and
safety at work.
In
the case of HIV AIDS and genetic testing which come with many social, ethical
and legal concerns, employment legislation is even stricter and often times proscribed.
In all cases adherence to the principles of relevance, proportionality,
necessity and human rights principles such as privacy, physical integrity and
non-discrimination are mandatory. In any
case, HIV AIDS testing must always be done if at all with the prior informed
consent of the person taking the test. For instance the UNAIDS/WHO Policy on
HIV Testing (June 2004) insists on the 3Cs: informed consent, confidentiality,
accompanied counselling. The
Ghana National Work Place HIV/AIDS Policy document (December 2004) requires
that standard pre-employment medical forms do not request HIV status.
However
with high unemployment rates and the particular vulnerabilities in the informal
economy can job seekers insist on their legitimate right to non-disclosure?
Here’s
what happened in the case of a domestic worker in Ghana early this year.
The
agency with which the applicant was registered found a prospective employer and
the applicant was called in for an interview. She was a woman in her mid forties
with admirable experience, education and personal presentation. The interview went
well but she was required to undergo a pre-employment medical examination to determine
if she was fit for the job. She received no details of the medical screening
she was to be subjected to but the agency and prospective employer arranged a
series of tests at a health facility.
The
applicant presented herself at the health facility where sample blood and urine
were taken, questions asked and medical instruments applied in various
procedures on her. After waiting sometime the applicant was ushered into a
consulting room where she was informed by a doctor that she is a healthy woman
by all indications except that she tested positive for HIV AIDS.
