It Pays To Be Thin at Pemex, Where Small Waistlines Earn Bonuses
- Workers that meet certain body standards will get $287 a year
- Experts say company’s new “health incentive” is tone deaf
Photographer: Susana Gonzalez/Bloomberg
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At Mexico’s state-run oil company, skinnier waists mean bigger bonuses.
Under Petroleos Mexicanos’s new collective bargaining contract with its union, workers who meet certain body weight standards will receive a “health incentive” of 5,545.40 pesos ($287) a year. To qualify, they must have a body mass index, or BMI, of not more than 25 -- or a maximum waist circumference of 90 centimeters (35 inches) for men and 80 centimeters (31 inches) for women. The so-called health bonus is a 4.6% increase from the last union contract.