HIV testing not permitted by law
Re: "Health tests for foreign workers are expensive and will backfire", Letters, July 2.
It may be difficult to do much about the requirement for medical certification that teachers [and other foreign workers] be free of diseases such as elephantiasis, tuberculosis, alcoholism, drug addiction and syphilis, as required for all foreign workers applying for work permits under Ministry of Labour regulations. However, HIV testing of employees is not permitted, according to the ministry’s own Code of Practice on Prevention and Management of HIV/Aids in the Establishment. Section 5.1.1 states that there can be no requirement for testing for HIV/Aids or any request for certification of whether a person is HIV-positive or negative as part of the screening of job applicants and employees or as part of the employment conditions.
Concerned Ajarn and his colleagues should file a complaint with the ministry if this supposedly prominent university persists in its unenlightened refusal to comply with government labour guidelines.
George Morgan
Bangkok
