Accusations of discrimination are hitting the civil service in Guangdong China. Three people have taken legal action against the Foshan Bureau of HR and Social Security, saying they were denied jobs because they carried a genetic blood disease.
Discrimination advocates say these are the first cases of their kind in China. The three complainants, named Tang, Zhou and Xie, say they ach passed both a written examination and in-person interview but were denied jobs after medical tests uncovered evidence of Thalassemia, which can result in some carriers becoming anaemic. While none of the trio actually had aneamia itself, they were still classified as carriers of the disease.
The Deputy Director of the Foshan Bureau of HR and Social Security said it acted in accordance with the government health law, which states that civil servant job applicants cannot be hired if they have anemia.
The three plaintiffs have cried foul. “It is not fair to us and similar gene carriers. We are healthy and no different from other applicants in work and daily life,” Tang said. Their attorney, Huang Yizhi, agreed. “Denying Thalassemia gene carriers the opportunity to be government employees is certainly discrimination.”
A ruling on the landmark case will be given in three months