Now require HIV testing.

[AlanAunuum]

when i went for my last work permit it stated that i had to get a hiv clearance,medical cert usually 50 baht at clinic now 500 baht at hospital do i think it is another money making,screw the farang trick YES

[peterbkk9]

This is discriminatory!

thais will only hear what suits them, like in every topic.

how about making hiv tests mandarory again for thai labourers in the Middle East?

no double standard!

[pigeonjake]

i had to do it for angolan visa,

i know its not thailand, but they could be trying to catch up with things

[edwardandtubs]

The HIV test certainly isn't a requirement so it's clearly something the university have come up with themselves. You would have though a university would be more enlightened and not seek to discriminate against those with HIV. If I were the OP I would decline the HIV test and inform the university that it's not required to get a work permit, is an invasion of privacy and a breach of human rights. They would probably say 'Oh, OK'.

Edited August 28, 2014 by edwardandtubs

[bkkjames]

The HIV test certainly isn't a requirement so it's clearly something the university have come up with themselves. You would have though a university would be more enlightened and not seek to discriminate against those with HIV. If I were the OP I would decline the HIV test and inform the university that it's not required to get a work permit, is an invasion of privacy and a breach of human rights. They would probably say 'Oh, OK'.

and add in when all the Thais working here and attending here have had theirs, I will get mine.

[RBOP]

This topic came around a few months ago when the NHRC of Thailand said it was against human rights to ask employees to be tested for HIV.

[inbangkok]

Are you worried about the result ? Sounds like a good idea to me.

Why? Are you one of those idiots who think it can be transmitted by sneezing or from a toilet seat? I cannot think of one logical reason why anybody with even half a working brain would respond with "sounds like a good idea to me"........

[inbangkok]

I heard rumor that a hiv test is required to become a US citizen but I would be suprised if true.

I am not sure about that.....but believe it or not, you could not even travel to the USA if you were HIV positive up to a few years back. George W. Bush repealed that ridiculous law. In theory, I am sure people who were HIV positive were still travelling to the USA, but it was illegal.

[Ombra]

Arkady says that the Thai government got Middle Eastern states to stop testing for HIV, but this is not true of the UAE. For the last 12 years at least, they have tested everyone who applied for a residence visa even if that person, like some wives, didn't intend to get a job. Thais are certainly not exempt.

[Soutpeel]

Are you worried about the result ? Sounds like a good idea to me.

Why? Are you one of those idiots who think it can be transmitted by sneezing or from a toilet seat? I cannot think of one logical reason why anybody with even half a working brain would respond with "sounds like a good idea to me"........

all me to challange your statement, is high blood pressure, diabetes and a whole other host of other diseases are transmitted by sneezing or from a toilet seat, some people are subjected to a medical annually for the purposes of employment and in certain cases you can lose your job over having high BP, diabetes etc, becasue you get declared medically unfit.

so one suspects you should think before you type and start stating people have half a brain...

in reality a periodic HIV test doesnt hurt, and is a good idea and I for one would like to know sooner rather than later, if I did have HIV

[ubonjoe]

This topic is getting way off topic. I have already had to remove some posts.

[Mudcrab]

This is discriminatory!

thais will only hear what suits them, like in every topic.

how about making hiv tests mandarory again for thai labourers in the Middle East?

no double standard!

How is it discriminatory? Discriminating against whom? HIV sufferers? If the requirement was for everyone to take the test then there is no discrimination.

If the test was only targeted at certain groups then that is certainly discriminatory. So what?

You really need to stop thinking like you would in the west. Things are different here.

If you are Black you WILL be discriminated against. Fact of life. Complain to the UN. Won't change the reality as sad as it may be.

My Mrs had to have the HIV test for her Aussie marriage visa. No discrimination - don't want the visa, don't take the test.

[inbangkok]

Are you worried about the result ? Sounds like a good idea to me.

Why? Are you one of those idiots who think it can be transmitted by sneezing or from a toilet seat? I cannot think of one logical reason why anybody with even half a working brain would respond with "sounds like a good idea to me"........

all me to challange your statement, is high blood pressure, diabetes and a whole other host of other diseases are transmitted by sneezing or from a toilet seat, some people are subjected to a medical annually for the purposes of employment and in certain cases you can lose your job over having high BP, diabetes etc, becasue you get declared medically unfit.

so one suspects you should think before you type and start stating people have half a brain...

in reality a periodic HIV test doesnt hurt, and is a good idea and I for one would like to know sooner rather than later, if I did have HIV

I did "think" before I typed my statement and I stand by it. Dismissing someone from a teaching post because they have HIV is discriminatory and absurd.

Your comparison does not make sense either. People dismissed from a position due to high blood pressure or even diabetes is generally going to be a job that may be affected by high blood pressure or diabetes. Maybe a cop, a firefighter, or something like that. Having HIV does not affect someones ability to teach.

Of course periodic HIV testing is a good thing. That's not what this is about. This is about the fact that if someone turns up HIV positive they will lose their teaching position. I stand by my statement that someone has to be severely mentally deficient to think this is OK. I would suggest that you are the one that needs to think about this issue a bit more. Unless you think it is OK to discriminate against HIV positive people like America did during the AIDS epidemic. I for one am not going down that route.........I am a better person than that.

[Jimbolai]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

The Human Rights Commission recently said that this HIV testing for jobs, visas, etc is a breach of human rights.

Why is it is a breach of human rights?

[culicine]

This is discriminatory!

thais will only hear what suits them, like in every topic.

how about making hiv tests mandarory again for thai labourers in the Middle East?

no double standard!

How is it discriminatory? Discriminating against whom? HIV sufferers? If the requirement was for everyone to take the test then there is no discrimination.

If the test was only targeted at certain groups then that is certainly discriminatory. So what?

You really need to stop thinking like you would in the west. Things are different here.

If you are Black you WILL be discriminated against. Fact of life. Complain to the UN. Won't change the reality as sad as it may be.

My Mrs had to have the HIV test for her Aussie marriage visa. No discrimination - don't want the visa, don't take the test.

The OP would certainly find it discriminatory if he lost his job because of a positive test. This is the ONLY reason to do this test ! The test in itself is not discriminatory, but how it could be used is.

[Morakot]

I don't think syphilis can be casually transmitted either.

What? I'm sure it can be transmitted through having casual sex.

Edited August 28, 2014 by Morakot

[ironbark]

you have to have serotology for syphilis(covers other STD's)

not heard that HIV is asked for

Just been informed by HR of requirements

Are you worried about the result ? Sounds like a good idea to me.

in reality a periodic HIV test doesnt hurt, and is a good idea and I for one would like to know sooner rather than later, if I did have HIV

Yes it is a good idea for personal reasons but that is not the point being made here.

The question is should it be a condition of employment and unless the job description includes activities that may result in accidental transmission of body fluids, for example some types of health or sports work then it should not be a condition of employment.

[BudRight]

It sickens me that some posters are defending this. You really have no souls, no sense of decency, no heart.

[petedk]

Are you worried about the result ? Sounds like a good idea to me.

No not worried at all. No need to be.

I just think that is a breach of human rights. I mean, suppose someone was found positive he/she would be hung out.

I have thorough health checks every year anyway.

[petedk]

It is necessary if you are being insured by your employer, otherwise should not be. The Insurance agent comes to the hospital to verify.

No insurance here.

[petedk]

when i went for my last work permit it stated that i had to get a hiv clearance,medical cert usually 50 baht at clinic now 500 baht at hospital do i think it is another money making,screw the farang trick YES

I agree completely.

I think it is just another way of getting money out of us.

I had surgery at a Bangkok hospital a couple of years ago and was forced to take an HIV test. The insurance paid all fees for my surgery but wouldn't pay the HIV test.

Cost 800 Baht!

[derekwyoung]

I have lived here more than 10 years and slept with quite a few bar girls .I have a check up every year and always asked for hiv test to be added If by any stroke of bad luck i got it I would not have wanted to pass it on Not need it since getting married Ive been good and love my wife.Why would you not want to know? Sooner start treatment the better

[balo]

I am not defending the schools decision , I was more generally thinking about people that never do HIV tests , maybe they are afraid of the results. If you already do yearly health checks then there should be no need to do another HIV test just because you want to teach .

[pattayasnowman]

What is more these test for the so called "HIV " virus are notoriously unreliable.

(Read the disclaimers that come with the 'Rapid' tests )

But the Western Blot and the ELISA tests are equally unreliable beacause all test for non specific antibodies

NOT the presence of anny virus

Further more I know that Bankgok Pattaya Hospital have used the:

polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for testing and it is generally recognized not to be used for testing purposes.

The fact that institutions or employers want to test and discriminate is outrageous enough in itself if it was real.

The fact that the whole HIV = AIDS issue is a myth well leaves me speechless

[carter1882]

If the university did ask for this it is breaking the law pure and simple. The law is quite clear as I have read it, in both Thai and English. The Op should not take the test and should report the university to the relevant authorities instead. It is a violation of human rights , illegal to compel anyone to take the test as it necessarily implies that knowledge of the results will be passed to a third party (punishable by imprisonment or a heavy fine). Many who have lived and worked here for many years will know that HIV care, treatment and legislation is extremely well developed and a model for many nations on the peripheries of the G8.

[benj005]

When I worked in Korea I was tested for all kinds of diseases.

It's a good thing.

[Arkady]

you have to have serotology for syphilis(covers other STD's)

not heard that HIV is asked for

Just been informed by HR of requirements

Not sure if the govt would dare ask for this as it is standard international practice to prohibit involuntary HIV testing since it is not airborne and not something that can be fixed, unlike syphilis and is purely discrimination and stigmatisation. The Thai govt was very upset when middle eastern countries introduced HIV testing for Thai labourers and got it stopped, although of course the problem with Saudi was resolved by a complete ban on Thai labour after the jewellery heist. In the early 90s the Thai BOI required HIV testing for its one stop PR application processing but they were unable to get PR for anyone anyway and the scheme was dropped.

but with the above being said, on for my very first WP through Chonburi DOL, nearly 14 years ago, an HIV test was required, now this may have been a "local" requirement and not official goverment policy, but it was asked for and done none the less, but when I changed jobs, not required second time around, so maybe there was a brief time in the past where it was required under certain DOL's

In the case of the OP, as we sure its the DOL is asking for this and not the University as part its HR process ?

It's never been in the DOE's regulations for WPs. So I guess Chonburi was acting on its own ugly initiative. Barring another rogue Labour office It also seems likely that it was the OP's university that asked for it and perhaps pretended it was a DOE requirement. AFAIK it's illegal for Thai employers to request this but many demand it from all staff anyway. Schools and colleges might argue the need to protect the students, as if the yexpect all teachers to have unprotected sex and/or share hypodermics with their students.

Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect Thailand

[BudRight]

I have lived here more than 10 years and slept with quite a few bar girls .I have a check up every year and always asked for hiv test to be added If by any stroke of bad luck i got it I would not have wanted to pass it on Not need it since getting married Ive been good and love my wife.Why would you not want to know? Sooner start treatment the better

Because you are being denied employment if you fail the test. The consequences if you test yourself are different than if the employer demands the test. Do people seriously lack imagination or something? Just think about it for a couple minutes.

[chrisinth]

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i had to do it for angolan visa,

i know its not thailand, but they could be trying to catch up with things

Thailand trying to catch up with Angola? Sounds about right..........................

[chrisinth]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

Are you worried about the result ? Sounds like a good idea to me.

Why? Are you one of those idiots who think it can be transmitted by sneezing or from a toilet seat? I cannot think of one logical reason why anybody with even half a working brain would respond with "sounds like a good idea to me"........

all me to challange your statement, is high blood pressure, diabetes and a whole other host of other diseases are transmitted by sneezing or from a toilet seat, some people are subjected to a medical annually for the purposes of employment and in certain cases you can lose your job over having high BP, diabetes etc, becasue you get declared medically unfit.

so one suspects you should think before you type and start stating people have half a brain...

in reality a periodic HIV test doesnt hurt, and is a good idea and I for one would like to know sooner rather than later, if I did have HIV

I did "think" before I typed my statement and I stand by it. Dismissing someone from a teaching post because they have HIV is discriminatory and absurd.

Your comparison does not make sense either. People dismissed from a position due to high blood pressure or even diabetes is generally going to be a job that may be affected by high blood pressure or diabetes. Maybe a cop, a firefighter, or something like that. Having HIV does not affect someones ability to teach.

Of course periodic HIV testing is a good thing. That's not what this is about. This is about the fact that if someone turns up HIV positive they will lose their teaching position. I stand by my statement that someone has to be severely mentally deficient to think this is OK. I would suggest that you are the one that needs to think about this issue a bit more. Unless you think it is OK to discriminate against HIV positive people like America did during the AIDS epidemic. I for one am not going down that route.........I am a better person than that.

Does it actually say they will lose their job if they are HIV+?

As with the other examples (blood pressure, diabetes, etc), even if the pressures are high (or low) or the person has been diagnosed with diabetes these conditions can be controlled in most circumstances for employment. I think what Soutpeel was referring to was people working in an environment where immediate medical assistance is unavailable.

Edit: Just to add, over the last 8 years working for the same company, I have never been asked for the 5 additional tests (or for HIV) when applying for my work permit extensions. The company use the annual medical certificates of the employees, which, to my knowledge, doesn't contain additional blood work. This work includes offshore for O/G in the GOT as well. Have wondered about that, how much is company policy and how much is the labor departments requirements.

Edited August 29, 2014 by chrisinth