Smokescreen or Opening a Can of Worms? Workplace HIV/AIDS Peer Education and Social Protection in South Africa

The HIV/AIDS epidemic threatens amongst other things social protection provided in the workplace. Social protection comprises a range of rights and responsibilities that afford security to workers and their dependants. Any increase in diseases that impact on working age adults will have a detrimental affect on the levels of social protection that can be afforded. Additionally Rosen and Simon (2003) have suggested that private sector companies are shifting the burden of the disease by means of inter alia atypical employment forms and the capping of employee benefits. Such responses both reduce the overall level of social protection and increase differentials between core and peripheral workers within companies. Alongside any shifting of the burden of HIV/AIDS South African companies are actively implementing workplace HIV/AIDS programmes. These involve a number of components including HIV/AIDS peer educators who form a frontline of advice and support for workers. Drawing on research in five large South African companies this article assesses the activities of workplace peer educators (PE) and how this might impact on social protection in the workplace. (excerpt)