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HIV/AIDS management

HIV/AIDS continues to be a major concern at both the South African and Zimbabwean operations. Not only is there a direct significant cost to the company in terms of medical care and prevention programmes, but there is also a significant impact on productivity in the workplace and on the replacement of skills in an industry where skills are in short supply. The most significant impact, however, is on the well-being of employees and their families.

All employees and their dependents have access to external medical care and some employees make use of state-owned facilities. The statistics reported below reflect only those that can be gathered when employees make use of direct company facilities. Under-reporting is therefore likely.

Based on estimates and independent analysis and limited testing, it is estimated that the prevalence levels among the company’s workforce is an average of 20%. Increasing resistance to testing has been noted during the year, particularly at Impala Platinum.

Higher levels of staff turnover have, over time, resulted in high HIV prevalence levels within the group, and particularly at Impala Rustenburg, where new recruits are drawn from communities that have historically had a higher HIV/AIDS prevalence level than that of the company’s own workforce. In addition, the recruitment of more women – who are an at-risk group within the broader population – may have an impact on the overall prevalence levels.

Employee involvement

Agreements are in place with major unions in respect of the management of HIV/AIDS at the South African operations. The effectiveness of the Impala Rustenburg committee remains a factor of concern, although subsequent to the union election process in May 2008, some improvement has been evident. The functioning of this committee will be a focus area in the year ahead.

Performance

The focus during the year under review was two-fold:

• first, to prevent the disease through education programmes and, in particular, the use of peer educators; and
• second, to increase registration and compliance with the company’s wellness programme, including participation in the antiretroviral treatment (ART) programme.

Voluntary counselling and testing (VCT) is available at all of the company’s operations, although uptake during the year was very disappointing. Only 3 609 employees underwent testing during the year, (FY2007: 6 805 tests).

Employees who are HIV-positive are encouraged to participate in the wellness programmes available through the company or through the various medical aid schemes. As at the end of FY2008, 2 734 new patients were enrolled in the group’s wellness programme.

ART is available to all employees and their dependents through the group’s medical schemes. In FY2008, 307 new patients started on the ART programme with a total of 708 employees (FY2007: 396) taking their treatment through the group’s medical facilities. The exact number of employees taking ART through external medical schemes is not known. Maintaining compliance with the ART programme remains a challenge and professional nurses and peer educators have been specifically allocated to encourage and ensure compliance.

The impact of the pandemic remains severe. The company is aware of 105 patients who died in service as a result of AIDS-related illnesses during the year and a further 165 people who left the company’s employ as a result of HIV-related medical issues (FY2007: 113 and 363 respectively).

Implats is involved in a number of initiatives providing care to employees and others around its operations and in labour-sending areas.

The total cost to the group of the HIV/AIDS education and medical programme for employees was approximately R16.1 million in FY2008 (FY2007: R18.5 million) at Impala Rustenburg.

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