Private Sector companies:

The Project is providing technical support to corporate groups in India for development and implementation of workplace HIV/AIDS policy and programme for the entire group, based on the ILO Code of Practice, benefiting their employees/families, including contractual workers and workers in the supply chain. Following the strategy, the Project has signed MOU with 13 large corporate groups who are implementing HIV/AIDS interventions in all locations/plants, including their contractual workers.

The Project has developed a set of materials to support corporate interventions: A manual for master trainers/peer educators along with resource DVD, a card game for peer educators that helps them undertake interactive sessions, a set of posters.

The Project is undertaking advocacy with big corporate houses coupled with training and technical support, with a view to upscale enterprise based interventions, a key strategy of the project. The corporate groups have a potential to cover their employees/families as well as their contractual workers, associates, partners and workers in the supply chains. The key to this approach is that the corporate groups will set up internal committee on HIV/AIDS, nominate a nodal person for HIV/AIDS, get their employees trained as Master Trainers and Peer Educators, and set up linkages with the government facilities for testing and treatment.

Public Sector companies:

ILO’s technical support resulted in development of HIV/AIDS policy for the entire group in three large organizations: Reserve Bank of India; Coal India Ltd and Damodar Valley Corporation.

In collaboration with the Ministry of Labour and Employment (MOL& E) and Standing Conference of Public Enterprises (SCOPE), ILO mobilized large Central Public Sector Enterprises for developing HIV/AIDS workplace policy and programmes. Training and policy support was provided to 18 Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs).

ILO undertook a research study on economic impact of HIV/AIDS on a coal company. This was followed by mobilizing coal sector response to HIV/AIDS. Coal India Limited (CIL) with a workforce of approx. 430,000 initiated programme in all eight subsidiary companies. Starting with Central Coalfields Ltd in Jharkhand in 2003, the programme expanded to all locations. ILO has trained master trainers on HIV/AIDS in CIL and its subsidiaries and provided regular technical assistance. CIL and its subsidiaries are now developing partnership with State AIDS Control Societies for setting up Integrated Counseling and Testing Centers. ILO also offered assistance to Indian National Mine Workers’ Federation (INMF) and trained master trainers from amongst trade unions, who in turn have trained over 400 peer educators from unions in coal companies.