Genetic pre-employment tests may be acceptable
Genetic pre-employment screening may be acceptable subject to certain criteria, according to a report on the results of a sociological research project, carried out by the Centre de Sociologie de la Santé de l'Université Libre de Bruxelles and published by the European Commission, Directorate-General XII - Science, Research and Development. "Contribution to the analysis of the positions of trade unions and employers regarding genetic pre-employment tests" reports that the discourses of the unions' delegates and the employers interviewed reveal a fundamentally different approach: - Trade unions are extremely reluctant to see genetic pre-employment tests applied or to refuse them categorically. For the most part, they fear the worst, taking into account the many pernicious consequences associated with the use of such tests: - - An unrestrained selection on the right to work; - - An unacceptable infringement on the right to work; - - An acute deterioration of workers' conditions; - - A reduction, if not a negation, of the notion of Man. - Employers, although they have no a priori demand for genetic tests, favour them as long as: - - They serve the economic interests of their firms; - - They meet their moral responsibility with respect to their employees; - - A law can protect their civil liability. Although the study is based on the views of Belgian trade unions and employers, the authors: - Reflect on the conditions and implications of transposing the Belgian enquiry to a European level; - Consider the intervention of medicine in the regulation of work relationships; - Make 22 recommendations for discussion by experts, decision-makers and all citizens.
Countries
Belgium