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A former flight attendant is suing China Southern Airlines for suspending him after his sexual orientation was made public without his consent last year, in a rare legal manoeuvre that pits him against the country's largest airline.
A video showing the man kissing another man, alleged to be his colleague, was leaked on Chinese social media in October 2019.
The man, surnamed Chai, who is declining to use his full name in media appearances, brought his case to a court in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen on Monday.
Chai (left) is pictured standing next to his lawyer Zhong Xialu in front of a court in Shenzhen
Since the video appeared, the airline suspended Chai for six months and cut his pay, Chai's lawyer Zhong Xialu said.
Chai said he was paid around 10 per cent of his salary while under suspension. The airline also declined to renew his contract, which was a five-year deal that was up for renewal in April this year.
Chai, who had been working for the airline since 2015, said he was sad to lose a job that he loved.
'I don't want there to be anyone else like me who will be treated in this way. I think I really represent a very, very common worker, but just one who happens to be a sexual minority,' he said.
'We shouldn't be discriminated against, we shouldn't be oppressed and receive this unfair treatment, that's why I am protesting.'
'I understand what it means for me to go against a company this large, to fight for my rights,' he added. 'It means I can never do the job that I love again, at least not in China.'
The video initially went viral after an accompanying caption claimed that the then flight attendant was harassing a male colleague, said to be a pilot, under the influence of alcohol.
It was reportedly published to WeChat by the colleague without Chai's permission.
Chai accused the co-worker of causing damage to his reputation and brought a lawsuit against him earlier this year.
A regional court ruled the case in June in favour of Chai. It ordered the defendant, named by the court as Yu, to stop violating Chai's rights, apologise to Chai and restore Chai's reputation, a statement said.
Chai had previously brought the case to arbitration as a labor dispute, but the arbitration court ruled in favor of the airline in August. He then decided to take his dispute to court. On Monday, he appeared in a Shenzhen court to argue that the company had violated labor laws by suspending him without reasonable evidence.
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk
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