aah. ars © Hosting Dr. Wittlin (middle) for part of his visit were I.W.A. National First Vice President Neil Menard (left) and Jim Stimson, MB’s EFAP specialist. Brazilian doctor visits Canada to study effectiveness of EFAP In July and August, the I.W.A., MacMillan Bloedel and other support- ers of the Employee and Family Assis- tance Program were paid a visit by a Brazilian physician who came to British Columbia to look further into the EFAP. Dr. Flavio Wittlin, from Rio de Janeiro dropped by the union’s na- tional headquarters during a 6 week visit to B.C. His visit, co-sponsored by MacMil- lan Bloedel and other forest compa- nies, gave the Brazilian doctor an op- portunity to have a_ closer examination of how the EFAP can as- sist working people in dealing with Very few Brazilian workers are able to get access to drugs to prolong their lives af- ter the onset of AIDS their problems, including infection by socially transmitted diseases. Dr. Wittlin’s visit coincided with the 11th International Conference on AIDS, held in Vancouver between July 7-12, where over 500 international ex- perts on the disease assembled to share new research and other infor- mation with over 15,000 people in at- tendance. In addition to the AIDS conference and investigation of EFAP’s, Dr. Wit- tlin visited the Edgewood treatment centre in Nanaimo to study how chemical dependency issues are dealt with at that facility. Rates of AIDS and HIV infection are at epidemic levels in Brazil, as they are in much of the third world, There are now almost 80,000 confirmed cas- es of AIDS in that country with nearly 450,000 cases of HIV infection, ac- cording to the Brazilian Ministry of Health. Intravenous drug use (specifically cocaine) and the sharing of contami- nated needles, constitute about 22% of all HIV infections in Brazil. For work- ing people and the unemployed, life with AIDS can be even more cata- strophic. Dr. Wittlin says the Brazilian Metal- lurgical Workers Union is one of the most progressive organizations in as- sisting those workers who are infect- ed and that public sector unions are active in assisting the poor. In a country where only 35 million people have private health care insur- ance, out of a population exceeding 150 million, many AIDS victims “are condemned to survive” by whatever means, says Dr. Wittlin. Even those with private health in- surance are not covered if they con- tract infectious diseases such as HIV, meningitis and the dengue fever. In the state of Sao Paulo alone, where unemployment and poverty is rampant, there are over 20,000 con- firmed AIDS cases. Very few workers, and those work- ing only for large companies, are able to get access to drugs in order to pro- long their lives. Companies like Xerox and the Brazilian Television Network do pay for drugs but little beyond that. Those who are infected do face dis- crimination in the workplace, but atti- tudes are slowly changing, say Dr. Wittlin. After spending some time visiting EFAP facilities and Assessment and Resource Services offices, Dr. Wittlin went back to Brazil with the impres- sion that an EFAP adopted to Brazil- ian realities, could offer people an in- frastructure for early intervention into the treatment and prevention of AIDS. Because the EFAP model in Canada is created from joint ownership by management and labour at the plant level, a similar structure may be ap- plicable in Brazil, says Jim Stimson, MacMillan Bloedel’s EFAP Specialist. Mr. Stimson and Neil Menard, First Vice President of I.W.A. met Dr. Wit- tlin by chance while at an internation- al conference on substance abuse in the workplace held in Brazil last year and were impressed by his dedication to working people and the underprivi- leged. Dr. Wittlin’s brothers own a small company, Arpet Comercio Ltd., which is a distributor of MB and Fletcher Challenge pulp and paper products for Brazilian markets. For Brother Menard, Dr. Wittlin’s visit serves as an example of how a workers’ organization can help people in other countries. “Our EFAP is a valuable model for other countries,” says Menard. “It is important that when we meet with people like Flavio, who can grasp the importance of the EFAP and under- stand it, that they become the movers and shakers to bring back the pro- gram, in some form, to their soci- eties.” “For us to be involved on an inter- national basis is a credit to our organi- zation and a continued commitment to working people.” Mr. Stimson says that the labour re- action to Dr. Wittlin’s visit has been very strong and that he was welcomed by I.-W.A. CANADA, the CEP, the HEU and other union affiliates. During the visit, Dr. Wittlin attend- ed a summer school at Nanoose Bay on Vancouver Island where 45 union and management representatives re- ceived EFAP training. He considered it a very rich experience where he saw that the EFAP can serve to assist in many areas of personal difficulties such as chemical dependency, marital conflict, parent/child conflict, legal and financial concerns. Dr. Wittlin also toured ARS offices in Campbell River, Port Alberni and Nanaimo. He visited the Centre for Disease Control at Vancouver General Hospi- tal where he was surprised to see the relatively low rates of socially trans- mitted diseases such as gonorrhea and syphilis. Wittlin says that we have a good system of monitoring such diseases and containing them before they spread to the general population. He also remarks that the public educa- tion process in his country can be in- fluenced by social moralities that block a real understanding about STD's and HIV infection. “In Brazil we need to recognize the interface between chemical depen- dency and HIV infection and we also need to recognize the relationship be- tween STD and HIV after the use of al- cohol and other chemicals, where people’s behavior is not as cautious with regards to protecting against STD’s,” he says. At St. Paul’s hospital, Dr. Wittlin visited the B.C. Centre for Excellence in HIV/STD’s, where he was intro- duced to high level technology and the latest in combination drug therapy used to prolong the lives of AIDS pa- tients. Eleven drugs are currently being used in Canada to combat the disease while only 2-3 are available in Brazil. In Brazil the average monthly wage is $120.00 U.S. while the annual costs of treating a patient with AIDS is $10,000.00. This is a clear indicator of the hopelessness that working people The EFAP developed in Canada can serve as a valuable model to assist workers in other countries face in that country. Many times Mr. Wittlin has witnessed cases where AIDS victims sell their drugs just to buy food. g Dr. Wittlin was surprised to find out that in British Columbia, the rates of HIV infection are increasing in alarm- ing rates with respect to intravenous drug users. Statistics released last year by the B.C. Ministry of Health reveal that of all new HIV infection cases in the last year, 39% have occurred amongst in- travenous drug users. In addition, 9% of new infections occur amongst the heterosexual population. Dr. Wittlin says that these new trends point to the spread of AIDS in the heterosexual population, for a dis- ease that has been traditionally linked to the gay community. At the International Conference on AIDS it was revealed that 93% of AIDS cases around the world are seen in third world countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America where the disease is rampantly spreading in the hetero- sexual population. A P Photo courtesy Local 2693 delegates. Howard Hampton Continued from page twelve union movement any good in the fu- ture. At a retreat in August, Hampton met with the OFL Executive to hear them out. “We came out of that meeting with some good commitments such as we'll be having regular sessions be- tween heads of union and Howie Hampton,” says McIntyre. “Everybody now feels that we'll now be part of problem solving in the future.” Joe da Costa, President of I.W.A. Local 1000, says that Hampton elec- tion was the appropriate one. © At the leadership convention, Local 2693 members were among the 15 I.W.A. LUMBERWORKER/SEPTEMBER 1996/13 “I think that our members will begin to get even more involved in the party now that Howie is the leader and that we can rejuvinate the party,” says Brother da Costa. At the leadership convention Hamp- ton was clear in speaking out for working people. “We live in a world where Mike Har- ris does intend to cut society in half to create a society, on one side, of peo- ple who have, and on the other side, of people who have not,” declared Hampton. “We need to say very clear- ly to all those people in Ontario...who are being exluded, who are being pushed out, to say very clearly that. New Democrats are on your side and we are fighting for you.”