A plus-size woman in China has alleged discrimination after her employer let her go because she did not fit their uniforms. The employer said this was only partly the reason and alleged she had been late to work in a case which has blown up on mainland social media. — SCMP
A woman in China has trended online after claiming she was fired for being “too fat” after her employer said it could not find a uniform in her size while a plus-size male colleague was allowed to stay on.
The woman, surnamed Tian, from Jilin province in northeastern China, has alleged body discrimination after being fired from her job at a dental hospital at the end of her three-month probation period, Feidian Video reported.
It’s not clear what position she held at the hospital.
A recording taken by Tian and later posted online showed her discussing her termination with an unidentified staff member at the hospital.
“Am I dismissed for being too fat to fit into the work uniform?” Tian asked.
“It’s not exactly the reason, and a second reason is that you are often late for work,” the staff member replied.
“The fact that I’m fat is nothing new, but I’ve never suffered discrimination because of it,” Tian retorted.
“We don’t have any bias against you,” the staff member said.
The staff member added that the hospital had found a new uniform manufacturer after the regular supplier could not produce a uniform in Tian’s size, but the new supplier had also been unable to make a uniform in her size.
“We really can’t find any suitable supplier,” the staff member added.
Tian said when she joined the hospital in November last year, she wasn’t informed of any rules about uniforms and body shape.
She also claimed that the dental hospital had made an agreement with another plus-size staff member that he could continue in his role if his weight dropped to under 90kg before the end of his probation.
Tian’s video has gone viral on mainland social media, with many people agreeing with her that she was fired because of discrimination.
One person asked: “Why didn’t the hospital dismiss her one or two months ago?”
Another said: “Work uniform is ‘one of the reasons’ but it doesn’t sound convincing.”
Stories about work discrimination in China are becoming more common as younger workers increasingly refuse to accept poor treatment for the sake of traditional views on deference to authority.
Late last year, a woman in Shenzhen in southern China quit her job as a new media specialist after being forced to clean the toilets on her first day.
In July last year, a woman in Chengdu, southwestern China, was called a “mistress” and an “ornament” during a job interview after she tried to negotiate her pay and conditions. – South China Morning Post
