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| How seriously do you take the wording in contracts? |
| Very seriously |
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28% |
[ 6 ] |
| Seriously |
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33% |
[ 7 ] |
| Somewhat seriously |
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23% |
[ 5 ] |
| Pay scant attention to the wording |
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9% |
[ 2 ] |
| Couldn't care less what it says, it is only paper |
|
4% |
[ 1 ] |
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| Total Votes : 21 |
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| Author |
Message |
boomerexpat
Joined: 15 Apr 2012
Posts: 135
Location: Mexico
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 Posted: Sat Jul 21, 2012 3:29 am Post subject: |
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| wangdaning wrote: |
| Sometimes it would be better to just cut and run. |
that seems to be the philosophy of at least half of the teachers I speak with |
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Miles Smiles
Joined: 07 Jun 2010
Posts: 1294
Location: Heebee Jeebee
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| Posted: Sat Jul 21, 2012 10:20 am Post subject: |
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| NoBillyNO wrote: |
There is no appendix. What I posted is the way it is, GT.
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In the SAFEA contracts, the appendix is sometimes called an addendum. Sometimes the addendum actually contradicts the terms of the contract. My experience is that schools that have an addendum are often problem schools that reduce their liability in the event of their screw-up or default. A year or two will pass and then suddenly, WHAM there's no air conditioning because the school wants to save on electricity, and you're told "No can fix until after summer." That two-thousand DOLLAR penalty for breach of contract has been reduced in the addendum to three hundred dollars or less--- like two thousand RMB. Worse, you'll never see that money anyway because they'll '' drag their feet until you quit or find somewhere else to live for the summer.
| Quote: |
| Isn't the contract written by SAFEA printed in both Chinese and English in a single bundled contract in bulk by the head office? |
Yes. The SAFEA contract also allows the school to make addenda. In fact, SAFEA contracts often contain the phrase "...unless not provided by the addendum to this contract..." and "...Any addenda take precedence over anything contained in part I of this contract..." This gives the school carte blanche to rewrite the entire contract by addendum. I've had a contract with two addenda, the second of which I refused to sign after I arrived. It was not included in the original contract sent for me to inspect before i accepted it.
| Quote: |
| I just can't see the Labor Department sifting through thousands of contracts to ensure that they are in compliance. |
It probably doesn't. In one case, my contract was never registered with the Labor Department; in another case, the contract wasn't registered with the SAFEA. The school merely copied the outer cover of an SAFEA contract, then rewrote the contract in its entirety. The contract looked exactly like an SAFEA contract except for the fact that it was printed on standard cheap office copy paper and did not bear the SAFEA registration number. At this particular school, when it seriously breached my contract (over pay-- what else?) I asked for mediation through the SAFEA (as provided by the contract). The numbskull FAO waiban didn't know what SAFEA was, even the cover page had "SAFEA State Agency of Foreign Expert Affairs" written on the front in huge letters.
| Quote: |
| If you are not working under a SAFEA contract then you have no access to mediation in China. |
And you will have no mediation provided by the SAFEA. One will be hard-pressed to find anyone who speaks English at the main office in Beijing or at any of the other offices in the provinces that I have worked in. |
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boomerexpat
Joined: 15 Apr 2012
Posts: 135
Location: Mexico
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| Posted: Sat Jul 21, 2012 11:09 am Post subject: |
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| Miles Smiles wrote: |
And you will have no mediation provided by the SAFEA. One will be hard-pressed to find anyone who speaks English at the main office in Beijing or at any of the other offices in the provinces that I have worked in. |
It seems like this is the best rationalization for those teachers who choose to just not take the contracts seriously. |
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Miles Smiles
Joined: 07 Jun 2010
Posts: 1294
Location: Heebee Jeebee
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| Posted: Sat Jul 21, 2012 2:18 pm Post subject: |
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| Actually, one's best bet for remedy is to go to the local Bureau of Foreign Experts and give them grief. In my case, the people there were interested in the rather bad situation at my school and visited the FAO waiban and her lackey. Though the lackey's attitude changed, the waiban was impossible to deal with afterward. I got the heat turned on, but pay was still always late. |
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