Chinese language agency faces backlash for taking and sharing photographs of staff in bogs | World Information

In keeping with reviews by South China Morning Publish, workers ignored knocks on the door, prompting workers to climb a ladder and use their telephones to take footage. The corporate claimed the photographs had been meant to function a warning and likewise reiterated its ban on smoking in restrooms.

The photographs had been later taken down after a couple of hours as a result of “they don’t look good,” the corporate mentioned. The follow, which started months in the past, solely just lately surfaced on-line, triggering widespread criticism.

Lawyer Zhu Xue from Celue Regulation Agency instructed Chinese language media outlet Jimu Information that the corporate’s actions violated workers’ privateness rights.

“The businesses shouldn’t file and handle its workers’ laziness however not unlawful behaviour with illegitimate strategies,” Zhu mentioned.

On-line commentators additionally condemned the act. One particular person remarked, “The very first thing that the corporate considered was that the photographs didn’t look good quite than that they had been unlawful, proof that the corporate lacked correct authorized schooling.” One other questioned, “Are they workers or slaves?”

Nonetheless, this incident shouldn’t be the primary time Chinese language corporations have been criticized for invasive worker monitoring.

In November 2021, main electronics retailer GOME admitted to monitoring its workers’ web use, punishing 11 staff for taking part in video games, listening to music, and chatting on-line whereas related to the corporate’s WiFi. A choose at Beijing Daxing Courtroom later urged the corporate might have violated privateness legal guidelines.

In 2022, Shenzhen-based agency Sangfor Applied sciences confronted backlash after selling a system that might monitor how typically workers visited job-seeking web sites or despatched resumes, allegedly detecting their “intention to resign.”