To scale up the access on HIV prevention, testing and treatment in Indonesia, the ILO is going to collaborate with two state-owned companies on HIV self-screening (HIVSS) programme. PT Pertamina (Persero), an oil and gas company and PT Waskita Karya (Persero), a construction company. These two companies are known for their non-discriminatory policy and their commitment to the prevention and control of HIV/AIDS at the workplace.The implementation of the HIV self-screening is based on the ILO-WHO Joint Guideline on HIVST at workplace. The guideline, developed in 2018 aims to increase HIV awareness and scale up the strategy at workplace that makes HIV testing services more accessible and appealing to those in need. To date, 59 countries have adopted HIVST policies and many others are developing them.Early D. Nuriana, ILO’s programme officer for HIV/AIDS, stated that the ILO at the global level has collaborated with WHO and Unitaid-PSI under the STAR III initiative to implement HIVST in Africa, such as Kenya and Zambia. “We hope to extend our programme to Indonesia, following the strong collaboration between the Ministry of Health and STAR III Project which has developed a Technical Guideline on HIVSS,” she explained said during the Executive Brief Meeting with the two companies on 8 September.The pilot HIVSS programme at these two companies is being conducted for four months from September to December 2021 under the assistance of the ILO’s partner, Kusuma Buana Foundation, a non-governmental organization deals with HIV prevention in the world of work. For this programme, the ILO provides 5,000 HIVSS tools for the two companies. The ILO also provides technical assistances for the companies to adapt the Guidelines from the Ministry of Health as well as the ILO/WHO into companies’ policies and programmes as well as supports the implementation of HIVSS and assists in the coordination with Ministry of Health for referral services.Meanwhile, the companies are obliged to formulate relevant policies and integrate the HIVSS into existing companies’ occupational safety and health (OSH) mechanisms, raise the employees’ awareness about HIVSS and provide relevant trainings.“The ILO’s HIVSS uses an Oral Fluid Test method. This a practical, simple method that can easily be done by the workers themselves,” added Early. She also hoped the HIVSS would inspire more companies to implement HIV prevention at workplaces and increase the uptake of HIV testing as it offers workers greater confidentiality and autonomy. The Senior Vice President QHSE & System of PT Waskita Karya (Persero) Tbk, Subhan, positively welcome the collaboration on HIVST programme. He believed that this programme could effectively prevent HIV transmission at workplace. “The HIVSS is an effective programme for HIV prevention, especially in time of the COVID-19 pandemic,” he added. A similar support was also given by the Senior Vice President HSSE of PT Pertamina (Persero) Tbk, Sahadi. “The HIVSS programme can contribute to HIV prevention at workplace. This is a good step towards the efforts to end AIDS by 2030. Indonesia is categorized as low concentrated epidemic level among key population with the estimation of 543.000 people living with HIV. However, the 2020 data of the Ministry of Health showed that 68 percent of people living with HIV were from non- key population with the high prevalence among productive ages.

Declared as a pandemic in March 2020, the COVID-19 has negatively impacted more than 29 million Indonesian workers. In addition to various economic problems causing business closures, reduction of workforce, the pandemic has increased the cases of domestic violence and disrupted workers’ mental health.

A woman worker working from home due to the COVID-19 pandemic

A quick survey by Tempo.co found that 72.4 percent of 2,700 readers participated in the survey admitted to having mental health problems. The is in line with the findings of Ipsos and the World Economic Forum which recorded 13,000 workers in 28 countries experienced mental disorders due to precarious employment and changes in routine.Mental health problems among workers have negatively affected the global economy to US$ 1 trillion in lost productivity. In Switzerland, for example, the cost of work-related stress during the pandemic has increased 600 million Swiss Francs per month from 7.6 billion Swiss Francs before the outbreak. The trend of increased cases of mental health problems during the pandemic was discussed in the virtual discussion Ngobrol@Tempo entitled “Pandemic Taking Toll on Workers’ Mental Health: How ‘Smart Working’ Works” on Thursday, 9 September. The Director of Mental Health and Drugs at the Ministry of Health, Celestinus Eigya Munthe, confirmed the increasing cases of 6.8% anxiety and 8.5% depression. “The Ministry of Health noted that in 2020, 18,000 people experienced mental disorders, 23,000 suffered from depression and 1,163 attempted suicides. Therefore, the government has provided telemedicine services through an application named Sehat Jiwa, where workers can do free consultation and counselling to cope with workplace stress,” he said.The mental health problems experienced by workers, if not addressed immediately, may lead to lower business productivity. This would pose a potential threat to the government’s attempts to recover the conditions of economy and health.For this reason, Nuri Purwito Adi, University of Indonesia’s Head of Specialist on Occupational Medicine Study Programme, emphasized the importance of recognizing mental disorders mainly caused by psychological and emotional factors. The observed signs range from psychosomatic symptoms and nausea to significant behaviour changes and use of drugs. He suggested that workers who desire to maintain a good work-life balance need to have good communications with their family and company. “We need to know when we act as worker and as a household member. Time commitment should be agreed within the work team,” said Nuri.

Interactive talkshow on workers’ mental health in time of the pandemic

Hence, how do companies anticipate the threat of mental health problems for their employees? The representative of PT Mitsubishi Motors Krama Yudha Indonesia, Rakhmat Aji Pratomo, said that the company has developed a mitigation mechanism by forming a special team for COVID-19 prevention. In addition to ensuring health protocols and conditions in the workplace, this team focuses on mental health of workers. The team implements and monitors the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) set by the company on, among others, working hours, health service supports, work assignments and employees’ mobility, especially when working from home. “The company also closely works with the trade union. To realize decent work, the involvement of workers in decision-making is significantly important. The activities can be simple, for example, by delivering food gift to worker’s home,’’ shared Aji.Meanwhile, Grace Monica Halim, Technical Staff of ILO Geneva, underscored that mental health has become the concern of the ILO long before the COVID-19 was declared as a global pandemic. “Health issues are not only physical, but also mental. Stress can cause other effects, including work accidents, decreased work quality,” she stated. Three ILO’s Conventions Nos. 155, 161 and 187 cover mental health issues under the principles of occupational safety and health (OSH). In relations to smart working, Grace said that it is part of decent work. “Because smart working is human-centered. The point is that workers must know their rights,” she stressed. Negative stigma against workers with mental health disorders remains a big challenge for workers to ask for help. “They do not have courage to seek help as they are afraid of being stigmatized,” explained Grace, stressing that this kind of perception need to be eliminated immediately for the benefits of workers and the company. “For this reason, the ILO always encourages dialogue between workers and employers to eliminate stigmas like this.”Furthermore, to ensure business continuity and job security during the pandemic, including workers’ mental health, the ILO is currently initiating a COVID-19 risk assessment service in the workplace targeting 1,500 workplaces in Indonesia. Through this service, companies will be provided with technical assistance to be able to safely continue and expand business operations during the pandemic. For registration and further information, please visit ilocovidproject.id.