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[Integrity1]

This is a message of WARNING to anybody considering a teaching post in the English department at Mazoon College.

SUCCINCTLY PUT AND QUITE SIMPLY: DO NOT EVEN CONSIDER THIS COLLEGE. THAT IS IF YOU HAVE ANY SENSE.

I shall preface this message by confirming that, by and large, but with many other caveats, the account given by "mxolisi" is very, very accurate. Especially in relation to the Head of the English department, the Acting Dean, the generally appalling treatment and the farcical Contract, which amounts to nothing short of slave labour. (edited by mod)

The Mazoon "generic" contract! :

Further to mxolisi's account I can and should add the following for your information:

Article 24 states that "articles" can be amended or added by mutual agreement between the employer and the employee, and which then form an inseparable part of the contract. But this is untrue, as neither the Dean nor the Human Resources manager will compromise on any of the articles. What's more, they are very protective of their "contract", and vehemently insist that they are acting within Omani Labour law. But this is, as mxolisi pointed out, and as I shall continue to demonstrate is also untrue.

And just let me add at this point that, according to Omani Labour Law, a new employee is meant to receive their full contract before they arrive in the Sultanate, but that you will be encouraged to get yourself out there, in good faith in the hope...etc., etc. DO NOT LET THIS COLLEGE ABUSE YOUR DESIRE TO ACT IN GOOD FAITH...And I would seriously recommend against accepting this sort of post on the flimsy justification (no disrespect) that Muscat is a fun place to be...yes for a few months maybe, but then it becomes a matter of dealing with the reality of a simultaneous imbalance of attrition where the Mazoon abuse, tyrannical behaviour, unprofessionalism, unkindness, pretension, game playing, manipulation and cajoling...not to mention the lack of support, can no longer be mollified and kept at bay, even by those with the most fortitudinous of constitutions, by an ever decreasing amount of interesting places to go in which to let off steam...or perhaps better put an ever increasing amount of places which become tarnished by the colours of Mazoon corruption which permeate into the whole psyche of your honesty.

On the point of the basic salary: the contract makes it clear that your basic is only half of what you will be told in your offer letter/email. And that as mxolisi points out the rest is made up of what they consider to be the correct amount for your housing allowance, and "other allowance". Well apart from the fact that it is unacceptable to be told what the money you earn is for, there is an important ramification here. It essentially means that the yearly service gratuity which they bang on about as being half a month's salary for the first three years and then a month's salary for each year after that really does not amount to as much as they would have you believe at the outset.

Article 11 of their contract refers to their claim that it is their right to commandeer your passport, but as mxolisi has stated this is not true, even though the Human Resources Manager will swear until he's red in the face that that is not true. This is one sure sign, that you are putting your well-being into the hands of charlatans! But then of course if you do not care about things like this then go for it, and as mxolisi mentioned you will have the pleasure of having to deal with the double-edged sword of vice aka (Acting Dean and HOD) for permission to leave. On a point of permission, the former also purveys the masochistic rules of a militarist so if you're in to that form of obsequiousness in the work place go for it. But I warn you this man is immoral, and his sole concern is maintaining some form of superiority, and he uses threats, especially of sacking you, to keep you under control. Fortunately, he's not very bright, and knows very little about education. In fact he is probably the worst charlatan at Mazoon. So ask yourself do you really want to be surrounded by these sorts of people!? Any sensible person is of course going to say no, not even for the experience.

Another point on the contract is that you are asked to give three months notice of your intention to leave while Mazoon reserve the right to give one month.

But the most heinous article in the contract is Article 16 (3), which is tantamount to FORCED LABOUR (that is to say: SLAVERY)...For example, they ask the employee to pay the college for every month that they leave prior to the "per work resumption" which essentially means the following: you will be given a contract with a start date and a finish date on it for the duration of a year, but if you wish to leave before nine months have elapsed you will have to pay Mazoon college, in full, for every month before this nine month threshold. That is, say you want to leave after three months, well you can so long as you give them SIX MONTHS SALARY...This is forced labour because when start and finish dates of a contract are stipulated the employer cannot impose restrictions over and above the agreed notice periods, and certainly not fiscal ones.

The final article in this Mazoon Contract is also home to a terrible lie. Article 26 states that in the case of inconsistency between the two texts the Arabic text shall prevail. This is a lie because according to Omani Labour Law legally and in a court of law both texts are considered equally, and neither one nor the other is more important. That is, precedence and importance are the same.

mxolisi has already exposed the current Head of the English department as being a charlatan...and I can confirm that not only is he a poor educator. (edited by mod)

And just a final point the worst game is that a Mazoon college employee is lured and cajoled into the confidence of one or other of the multifarious coteries at the outset, and informed of all the gossip about all the others, yet the sad fact is that there are many layers of abuse at that college, many layers of insecurity, many aspects which betray the integrity of education, and which essentially amounts to the fact that the students continue to suffer...SHAME ON THIS COLLEGE AND ITS PERVERSIONS... And do not bother going to the Dean either because he has the spine of a snake...

DO YOURSELVES A FAVOUR JUST DO NOT BOTHER WITH THESE PEOPLE AND THIS COLLEGE...GO ELSEWHERE...IF YOU VALUE YOUR PIECE OF MIND, YOUR HEALTH, YOUR WELL-BEING, YOUR PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT, and your personal and professional integrity.

INTEGRITY1