Positive Life NSW

Photo: CASPIX

Blake

Working for a trade union and having HIV, Blake is someone who sees life from both sides of the street. Part of his job is ensuring that his members are treated fairly at work and are not discriminated against.

He is aware of the roadblocks that can confront people; not just people with HIV, but also people with chronic illness and disability.

Blake says it is obvious that stigma still exists against people with HIV and in most cases he would advise people not to tell their employers of their status.

"It is not ideal," he admits. He would rather people could be up front about their status, the way people with diabetes can. He pointed out that people with diabetes can tell their employer and they are generally sympathetic and put strategies in place to help them at work.

"I would like to see some workplace guidelines for employers to manage employees with HIV. It would be good if we could get some programs into the workplace which would overcome the stigma, dispel the myths and accommodate the HIV-positive person's need."

From his own experience, he knows that he needs time off every three months to go to the doctor for monitoring, but there are other issues as well.

"HIV is an up and down thing and your energy levels fluctuate. Sometimes you are not OK to work at full energy all day every day and sometimes you are."

After his diagnosis, Blake told his boss about his HIV status and says he "was OK with it". His brother is gay and also understanding.

"I tried to manage without ant-HIV medication for a while, but then I started getting sick. My immune system was under stress and I was getting tired. I went part time for a while which helped me get through those years. Now I have it better managed. I am on three anti-HIV tablets and an anti-depressant, which is something I have been managing since I was young, so it is not an issue."

"I am back at work full time, but it was good having the flexibility to go part time when I needed it."

He has a good support base at work. "Everybody kind of knows."

Blake says he recently applied for a new position at work and approached his boss about whether he should tell the interviewers he had health issues. "I didn't in the end. The boss said it wasn't an issue and not a big deal and he would support me."

Blake adds, "And I am in the union movement. These are the sort of things the unions should be supporting to get more flexible and non-discriminatory environments for people with HIV."