Bus drivers in Lithuania to be paid by weight?

It sounds like a bad and premature April Fools’ joke, but apparently it is absolutely serious: A bus company in Lithuania has caused a stir with its plan to pay employees according to their body weight. The company reportedly wants to encourage its employees to adopt a healthier lifestyle, on the principle that “the heavier you are, the lighter your paycheck.”

Hard times lie ahead for employees of the company in the Lithuanian city of Siauliai —especially for those who are overweight: If their superiors get their way, they will soon be paid according to their body weight.

The thinner the employee, the higher the pay—and vice versa. The Lithuanian bus company intends to pay its employees according to this absurd formula from now on. And the following shows that the company is serious about putting this idea into practice: The nearly one hundred employees of the company, called Busturas, in the city of Siauliai have already been weighed and had their body mass index (BMI), which is calculated using height and weight, determined, a representative of the local trade union told the AFP news agency indignantly.

Along with their body mass index, a health profile is to be created for the employees, including their blood pressure readings. Their pay will then be calculated using this overall score.

The local trade union condemned the plan and says it will go to court if the company does not abandon paying employees according to their body weight. The company’s chairman, Vilius Lauzikas, vigorously defends the unusual scheme, claiming that the measure is intended to encourage his employees to lead a healthy lifestyle.