(ECNS) -- A sales group founded by 10 construction supply and furniture companies in Hanzhong of Shaanxi Province is reportedly punishing employees by forcing them to eat live mealworms mixed with spirits for not hitting targets, Huashang Daily reported on Tuesday.
The event happened at a downtown plaza of Hanzhong. A leader of the sales group stood in front of 50 or 60 youngsters in yellow vest uniforms and held two plastic bags, with chopsticks, glasses and spirits in one and wriggling worms in the other.
Afterwards, he announced the names of employees who had not achieved their sales goals and made them swallow the alcohol with live worms inside.
A pregnant woman said that she couldn't do it, with another man stepping up to take her place. A total of five to six people received the worm-alcohol punishment, which, among others, is dealt out the next afternoon following a missed target.
"Today's routine is eating mealworms. Each lost customer means four mealworms. Besides worms, we have also eaten living squid and ants," said another employee.
A man surnamed Cao, one of the leaders of the sales group said employees accept the punishment set by themselves and that this method is meant to encourage them to work harder and push their own limits.
Some locals support such punishment, saying that it can help management guarantee enthusiasm among workers.
Nevertheless, most locals had the opposite opinion, saying that care and respect should be delivered to employees instead of punishment, especially in physical terms.
Zhao Xiaodong, a lawyer in Shaanxi Province said that corporates punishing employees is fair, but forcing them to eat living worms is a totally different story and completely inappropriate.
According to Labor Contract Law, employers have the right to set regulations to assess employee performance. However, physical punishment, insults or a great numbers of fines are forbidden.
An officer of Hanzhong Labor Inspection Department said "Such action is beyond work encouragement and has become a type of physical punishment. People can speak out against such instances to safeguard their rights and interests."
