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kylemcgee
Joined: 04 Nov 2009
Posts: 86
Location: Various..
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 Posted: Tue Jul 17, 2012 6:32 pm Post subject: This sounds like an agency lie, but I'm curious.. |
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Hello -
I just met with my agency and inquired about increasing my salary to the equivalent of other native speaking teachers I know at other agencies. They said they'd look into it, but they also said that NONE of the agencies have been paid by the Omani govt in 2 years!
They said they are surviving on bank loans they make against the promised salaries from the govt that they will get some day..
Anyone heard of this? I would be really surprised if this were true..
Thanks!
Kyle |
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usa_in_gulf
Joined: 10 Aug 2009
Posts: 133
Location: Gulf
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| Posted: Tue Jul 17, 2012 8:51 pm Post subject: |
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What the agency told you was absolutely true. The agencies have paperwork from the ministry saying that they will get paid�but years go by without them being paid. They get loans from banks based on the paperwork from the ministry.
Doing any business with any Omani ministry is an absolute nightmare. Yes, they are sometimes better than other Gulf countries in processing work visas/residency permits but anything other than that is a complete nightmare. They are no better than the other Gulf countries�and in some instances�much, much, much worse. |
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kylemcgee
Joined: 04 Nov 2009
Posts: 86
Location: Various..
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| Posted: Wed Jul 18, 2012 5:16 am Post subject: |
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| usa_in_gulf wrote: |
What the agency told you was absolutely true. The agencies have paperwork from the ministry saying that they will get paid�but years go by without them being paid. They get loans from banks based on the paperwork from the ministry.
Doing any business with any Omani ministry is an absolute nightmare. Yes, they are sometimes better than other Gulf countries in processing work visas/residency permits but anything other than that is a complete nightmare. They are no better than the other Gulf countries�and in some instances�much, much, much worse. |
Wow! That's crazy! Ok.. Thanks for the info..
Kyle |
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Nolan Chance
Joined: 13 Apr 2012
Posts: 45
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| Posted: Wed Jul 18, 2012 7:08 am Post subject: Re: This sounds like an agency lie, but I'm curious.. |
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| kylemcgee wrote: |
Hello -
I just met with my agency and inquired about increasing my salary to the equivalent of other native speaking teachers I know at other agencies. They said they'd look into it, but they also said that NONE of the agencies have been paid by the Omani govt in 2 years!
They said they are surviving on bank loans they make against the promised salaries from the govt that they will get some day..
Anyone heard of this? I would be really surprised if this were true..
Thanks!
Kyle |
It sounds absolutely on the money to me.
I haven't been in Oman for many years, but I have contacts there who've been there for a long time indeed. In the past, companies lost million of rials on contracts because of non payments or late payments by officialdom.
In the UAE it was even worse I understand. In the 90s, a Canadian contractor, ECS Educonsult, had its contract with the MoD cancelled , leaving hundreds of teachers owed a great deal of money. They were rehired direct contract, but still never got paid! The contractor wasn't either.
I doubt that would ever happen in Oman, but the world of business is the world of business wherever you are. Caveat Emptor. |
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dorothy1
Joined: 08 Jun 2008
Posts: 33
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| Posted: Wed Jul 18, 2012 11:56 am Post subject: GLOBAL BUSINESS NETWORK LLC (Globnet)-THE WORST |
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| There is a positive side to this story. Global Business Network LLC - one of the recruiters for MOM colleges - does not deserve to be paid for its services, because it openly violates the laws of Oman. GBN LLC confiscates the passports of its employees. This is a clear violation of the MOM decision on November 6, 2006. That decison bans private companies from taking the passports of employees through coercion. The MOM and all the Deans of the MOM colleges are fully aware that GBN LLC is engaging in illegal conduct. Yet, they turn a blind eye to it. A small group of teachers in the Colleges of Technology challenged GBN LLC during the 2011-2012 academic year. They stood up to the thugs managing that company. The only way to solve this problem is for the MOM to stop payment to GBN LLC. This Company needs to be taught a permanent lesson. GBN LLC has earned its demise. Karma is sweet. |
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veiledsentiments
Joined: 20 Feb 2003
Posts: 17644
Location: USA
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| Posted: Wed Jul 18, 2012 2:31 pm Post subject: Re: This sounds like an agency lie, but I'm curious.. |
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| Nolan Chance wrote: |
| In the UAE it was even worse I understand. In the 90s, a Canadian contractor, ECS Educonsult, had its contract with the MoD cancelled , leaving hundreds of teachers owed a great deal of money. They were rehired direct contract, but still never got paid! The contractor wasn't either. |
That is not quite accurate as I was there at the time. This company had its contract 'cancelled' because they decamped (in dark of night with no warning to teachers) with the money leaving the teachers in the lurch with unpaid salaries and in flats whose rent was also unpaid. I worked with some of these teachers and/or their spouses over the next few years. Teachers with families were thrown into the streets by the landlords and ended up being housed and fed with the help of local churches and friends. The majority of the teachers continued to teach their classes while the case crept through the courts. The government refused to pay back pay because they claimed to have already paid all monies to the contractor. (who knows...) The military eventually started paying teachers their current pay as they kept working. As to the significant back pay owed, it took a few years for it to get through the courts, but the teachers who stayed in the country and keep fighting eventually won. The court ruled that it was the military's responsibility to cover that back pay, no matter what the contractor did or didn't get.
But those who understandably gave up and left the UAE lost their money. It left ECS with a very very bad name in the Gulf. And then this soap opera continued with AMIDEAST getting the contract and being one of the top jobs in the UAE for years until the military decided that this looked easy and they 'not-renewed' the contract and the military ran the program into the toilet in a year... it finally died its last gasp and the government dumped it into the hands of HCT/CERT, and it has stumbled along since...
Governments the world over are terrible at paying contracts. It normally takes a year or two or three to get your money from them. True in the US, Europe, and probably everywhere. Most teachers are unaware of how these things work, but those of us who worked in business (my first career in accounting) know how it works. It isn't a punishment... it is the norm.
Now... back to Oman's contractors.
VS
(PS: The teachers also tried to sue ECS, but they had moved their headquarters to Cyprus to avoid Canadian laws) |
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Nolan Chance
Joined: 13 Apr 2012
Posts: 45
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| Posted: Wed Jul 18, 2012 3:22 pm Post subject: Re: This sounds like an agency lie, but I'm curious.. |
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| veiledsentiments wrote: |
| Nolan Chance wrote: |
| In the UAE it was even worse I understand. In the 90s, a Canadian contractor, ECS Educonsult, had its contract with the MoD cancelled , leaving hundreds of teachers owed a great deal of money. They were rehired direct contract, but still never got paid! The contractor wasn't either. |
That is not quite accurate as I was there at the time. This company had its contract 'cancelled' because they decamped (in dark of night with no warning to teachers) with the money leaving the teachers in the lurch with unpaid salaries and in flats whose rent was also unpaid. I worked with some of these teachers and/or their spouses over the next few years. Teachers with families were thrown into the streets by the landlords and ended up being housed and fed with the help of local churches and friends. The majority of the teachers continued to teach their classes while the case crept through the courts. The government refused to pay back pay because they claimed to have already paid all monies to the contractor. (who knows...) The military eventually started paying teachers their current pay as they kept working. As to the significant back pay owed, it took a few years for it to get through the courts, but the teachers who stayed in the country and keep fighting eventually won. The court ruled that it was the military's responsibility to cover that back pay, no matter what the contractor did or didn't get.
But those who understandably gave up and left the UAE lost their money. It left ECS with a very very bad name in the Gulf. And then this soap opera continued with AMIDEAST getting the contract and being one of the top jobs in the UAE for years until the military decided that this looked easy and they 'not-renewed' the contract and the military ran the program into the toilet in a year... it finally died its last gasp and the government dumped it into the hands of HCT/CERT, and it has stumbled along since...
Governments the world over are terrible at paying contracts. It normally takes a year or two or three to get your money from them. True in the US, Europe, and probably everywhere. Most teachers are unaware of how these things work, but those of us who worked in business (my first career in accounting) know how it works. It isn't a punishment... it is the norm.
Now... back to Oman's contractors.
VS
(PS: The teachers also tried to sue ECS, but they had moved their headquarters to Cyprus to avoid Canadian laws) |
My understanding of the ECS, Abu Dhabi debacle is this:
1)The MoD were repeatedly late in making payments to ECS. (The Technical training contract was a big one and payments over 1 million Dh had to be signed by Sheikh Kha****a who was always out of country).
2) Eventually, the boss of ECS Crai* Damn X2, instructed Stev* Licht**, the then CEO in Abu Dhabi ,to delay teachers' salaries until the MoD had paid them.
3) Teachers at Swehan went on strike.
4) The MoD imposed penalty clauses (which were actually illegal as they were not contemporaneous with the signing of the contract) for non-peformance.
5) Teachers then sued ECS, but were unsuccessful because ECS was a Limited Company and prior claimants had got in first -- and anyway one cannot sue a man of straw.
6)Some teachers were repatriated with ECS selling furniture to pay for their tickets.
7) Others were not so lucky.
 ECS allegedly protected itself from Canadian claims by moving to Cyprus.(But as I recall most teachers' paper contracts had been signed in the UAE -- and as ECS MD, SL, was fond of saying "A verbal contract is worth the paper it is written on.)
This is the world of business. It's risky, even if one is only selling one's labor.
I wasn't aware that those who stayed actually got paid. I wonder of one can make claim against Lebanese lawyers who took retainers from several people all those years ago? 
Last edited by Nolan Chance on Wed Jul 18, 2012 3:32 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Nolan Chance
Joined: 13 Apr 2012
Posts: 45
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| Posted: Wed Jul 18, 2012 3:31 pm Post subject: Re: GLOBAL BUSINESS NETWORK LLC (Globnet)-THE WORST |
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| dorothy1 wrote: |
| The only way to solve this problem is for the MOM to stop payment to GBN LLC. This Company needs to be taught a permanent lesson. GBN LLC has earned its demise. Karma is sweet. |
This is terrible advice unless one never wants to get paid. |
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dorothy1
Joined: 08 Jun 2008
Posts: 33
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| Posted: Wed Jul 18, 2012 4:21 pm Post subject: GLOBAL BUSINESS NETWORK LLC (Globnet)-THE WORST |
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| To Nolan Chance: My colleagues and I don't care about getting paid by Global Business Network LLC; we dumped them. We also made the MOM aware of this Company's illegal conduct. In the past, teachers have been afraid to challenge this Company. GBN LLC uses threats and coercion to get what it wants, which is power and control. For example, they refused to pay teachers their salaries until they surrendered their passports --classic blackmail. This happened in the fall of 2011 at MOM colleges, and it is well-documented. There is nothing in the GBN LLC contract about surrendering passports. And, the reason is because it is against the law in Oman. This didn't stop them, because they have been getting away with it for many years. We hope we have done something good for other teachers. Teachers should not have to deal with thugs like this. We hope that the MOM shows some moral courage, and severs its ties to GBN LLC. |
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Nolan Chance
Joined: 13 Apr 2012
Posts: 45
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| Posted: Wed Jul 18, 2012 4:30 pm Post subject: Re: GLOBAL BUSINESS NETWORK LLC (Globnet)-THE WORST |
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| dorothy1 wrote: |
| To Nolan Chance: My colleagues and I don't care about getting paid by Global Business Network LLC; we dumped them.. |
Lol!
In you have no connection with Globnet you obviously cannot be paid (or not paid!) by them. However, those who DO still work for them definitely would NOT be advised to encourage the MOM to withhold payments. The results could be what happened in Abu Dhabi in the 90s. (See above).
The passport issue is another issue and employees need to vigorously demand that Globnet obeys the law. |
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madrileno
Joined: 19 Aug 2010
Posts: 270
Location: Salalah, Oman
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| Posted: Thu Jul 19, 2012 10:20 pm Post subject: |
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| usa_in_gulf wrote: |
What the agency told you was absolutely true. The agencies have paperwork from the ministry saying that they will get paid�but years go by without them being paid. They get loans from banks based on the paperwork from the ministry.
Doing any business with any Omani ministry is an absolute nightmare. Yes, they are sometimes better than other Gulf countries in processing work visas/residency permits but anything other than that is a complete nightmare. They are no better than the other Gulf countries�and in some instances�much, much, much worse. |
Wow. It's true what they say. Working in the gulf is not for the fainthearted or the short of temper... |
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veiledsentiments
Joined: 20 Feb 2003
Posts: 17644
Location: USA
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| Posted: Fri Jul 20, 2012 12:57 am Post subject: |
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Fortunately as a teacher, you don't have to deal with this situation at all... normally the recruiters pay on time... and it isn't your problem where they got the money.
This is also a good reason to stick with the long time recruiters - as they know the game and have the system down - avoid the new guy on the block.
VS |
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