Building a firm base for policy consensus statement

We have arrived at a very important stage in the development of our country - one that will be most testing and challenging for all of us. Our second revolution, so to speak, is only beginning. The Government of National Unity, has come a long way in addressing the key political questions. Advancement from here lies in our economic prerogative. We are all concerned with the major economic challenge that lies ahead. Sustainable economic growth, the creation of wealth and equity, the provision of jobs and basic needs underpin the need to provide mechanisms which will facilitate growth, development and delivery. But our concern is not limited to our domestic economy

Fighting for Life: South African HIV/AIDS Peer Educators as a New Industrial Relations Actor?

This article examines HIV/AIDS peer educators in South African workplaces, drawing on research in five companies with large peer educator programmes. The research indicates that peer educators are primarily focused on reducing new HIV infections and 'normalizing' the epidemic by promoting change in the behaviour of individuals - a feature that is not accounted for by theories of workplace mobilization based on collective action. Similarly, their role is inadequately explained by theories on the emergence of new workplace actors based on the changing nature of work, shifting identity salience in society, and the nexus between workplace and communities as opportunities for union regeneration. After outlining the profile and activities of workplace HIV/AIDS peer educators, attention is paid to their motivations and methods of action, their relationship to management and unions, and the way in which they straddle workplace and community. The implications of this and the possible trajectory of workplace peer educators as a new industrial relations actor are discussed. Copyright Blackwell Publishing Ltd/London School of Economics 2006.