Job Discussion Forums

[iteach]

More facts about McGill in Saudi Arabia

Fact 1: It is the middle of June. Managers have made teachers go through a process of having conversations about goals, etc with the idea that this will inform if they will be asked back for the next year. No teacher has been invited back to this date.

Fact 2: Teachers are getting new jobs and leaving the project in droves. In fact, teachers are interviewing for jobs on work time (in some cases leaving the worksite for a whole day). The management is aware and expects other teachers to cover for the absent teachers.

Fact 3: If you are sick Royal Commission Hospital doctors will not give you a sick note. If you go to emergency, they will tell you it is not an emergency and send you to the clinic. When you go to the clinic they will tell you if you are too sick to work you must be seen by a doctor at the emergency. If you lose a day�s work, you lose a day�s pay. One doctor asked to see the visa of a teacher. The visa states �not permitted to work�. The doctor asked if the teacher is not permitted to work , why does he need a note to be absent from work.

Fact 4: The unqualified Coordinator has announced he will not be returning next year.

Fact 5: At the new accommodation we have been unable to use any gym equipment, the running track, the basketball court, and the pool. All of these facilities are completed and in working condition. We can see them but we can�t use them. There are still no stoves / ovens in the communal kitchen.

Fact 6: Security has given some teachers difficulty to get back onto the campus to get to their apartments if they do not return on the work bus. We have not been given any ID�s to show that we actually belong here.

Fact 7: It is before finals and the DOS and Royal Commission
Assessment staff have all gone on annual vacation. Teachers have stated that they had interviews with the DOS on his last day of work. The DOS sent out an email stating he was working from his apartment that day. He then did not participate in some meetings nor cancelled nor informed the teachers that he would not meet with them. Instead he had a goodbye party with the Project Leader and the �inner circle�.

Fact 8: Smoking is not allowed in the new building at the new accommodation.

Fact 9: After one teacher was stopped by campus security for wearing shorts from the campus swimming pool (not the accommodation pool which we cannot use yet), staff have been told that they must wear long pants and no muscle shirts when on the campus but outside of the apartment. Western style accommodation and comfort?�. NOT!

Fact 10: The pay continues to be on time and accurate in large part to the administrative clerk based in Montreal who does an excellent job.

Fact 11: The contract stipulates that teachers will be provided transportation to Saudi Arabia and back home. However, those of us leaving through Bahrain have been instructed we must pay for our own transportation to the Bahrain airport which is a minimum of $100 USD if you go alone, less if shared.

Fact 12: The Project Leader, management team, Mr. F. and the Dean of Continuing Studies has been made aware of our trying conditions and problems but the message circulating is one their own apathy and that our issues are not their priority. As of this date, there has been no positive action.

Fact 13: To his credit, the Project Manager has sent out two informative emails with helpful information. These are the first emails from him during the last 9 months. Too little, too late!

Fact 14: Teacher morale is at an all time low. The only bright spot is that there are only two weeks remaining.

Fact 15: Mr. F. had forwarded us an email from the Dean encouraging us around the upcoming move. However, we received this undated email 2 days after the move was complete. Also, the content of the email was word for word comments that Mr. F. had made in a meeting with a group of teachers. In fact, not written by the Dean at all.

Fact 16: Regular buses have been arranged for teachers to take them shopping each night. However, if what you need to buy will take you 5 minutes you must wait two hours for the return bus.

Fact 17: Security cameras have been installed outside the buildings…. to watch for intruders or to watch the teachers? Draw your own conclusions

Fact 18: Safety issue: due to frequency of sensitive smoke detectors being set off teachers have been instructed in an email by the Project Leader to disconnect the smoke detectors until further notice.

Fact 19: Students have a pseudo sense of power that is not so fake. They have been able to complain about teachers with no real academic basis and have teachers removed from the class.

Fact 20: Rumor and gossip remain the primary method of communication.

Fact 21: Since the beginning of work here the paperwork requirements for the teachers has, at a minimum, tripled.

Fact 22: There are current lawsuits against McGill for wrongful dismissal and for breach of contract.

Comment: Previous poster used the word �gorgeous� when commenting on the accommodations. Either this poster was being sarcastic or previously lived in a box.

[kiwiinksa]

It looks as though McGill has finished in Jubail.

Sad to see . . . I hope the guys that are still in Jubail are OK.

.

[jaffa]

Fact 3 is pretty funny, in a warped desert kind of way, and a potent message to those signing up on a non-work visa. Incidentally, the RC hospital is tough on sick notes for the sole reason that it would simply be full of Saudis attempting to slack off work.

Fact 5 - welcome to KSA!

Fact 10: The pay continues to be on time and accurate in large part to the administrative clerk based in Montreal who does an excellent job. ... hehe, says it all really.

Fact 11 - you can take the bus for $20 or just fly out of Dammam.

Fact 12: The Project Leader, management team, Mr. F. and the Dean of Continuing Studies has been made aware of our trying conditions and problems but the message circulating is one their own apathy and that our issues are not their priority. ... par for the course in KSA.

Fact 19: Students have a pseudo sense of power that is not so fake. They have been able to complain about teachers with no real academic basis and have teachers removed from the class. ... par for the course in KSA.

No real surprise that McGill lost the contract. It's passed around the middlemen every few years to make sure the wasta connected palms are greased in equal measure.

[iteach]

Mismanagement is the name of the game and headed by the King of Mismanagement, micromanagement, and abuse.... Mr. F. himself. He and the drones he had working for him are the sole reason that this contract has been lost. They did not LOSE it.... they were kicked out on their asses.What is surprising is that he got that contract for McGill in the first place given that every single person there that I ever talked to that works directly for the colleges hates that little angry man.

[casio]

The one thing you can always bet on in Jubail is the flashy, trashy and loud appearance of a new provider that threatens to sweep the board and walk off with all the dough, only to be pronounced dead after a year or so.

And so another cowboy outfit goes the way other shambolic snatchers have gone so many times before.

[jaffa]

It was the distillery spread across 4 rooms and the intercepted cannabis seeds that drove the final nail into McGill's coffin.

[Trips]

Canadians and weed. LOL!

[johnslat]

It would seem to be popular there, eh?

"Canadians like to use marijuana.

More young people consume the stuff in Canada than anywhere else in the world, a majority of citizens favour looser pot laws and the leader of a major political party toked while in office.

But which Canadian province uses marijuana the most?

That's the question answered by Statistics Canada's Canadian Community Health Survey for 2012, which asked Canadians over 15 if they used cannabis or hashish during the 12 month period. Of course, this means the numbers reflect how many Canadians are willing to admit using pot rather than how many actually do, but the survey is useful for comparing provinces.

Surprisingly, B.C. was not at the top of the list. Find out where the provinces stacked up in the slideshow below.

Which Province Smokes The Most Pot?

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/09/20/marijuana-use-canada-stats-per-cent_n_3962841.html?just_reloaded=1

Regards,
John

[Trips]

[veiledsentiments]

Hey... weren't the fellow complaining when other posters got off topic? Welcome to the social aspect of Dave's.

VS

[Trips]

[scot47]

"Change teacher, change teacher", is a frequent litany from unhappy syuidents in KSA. In serious institutions the students will be told to get lost. In lousier teaching environments, management will listen to trhese pleas. A danger sign if they do !

Which kind of instituition do you find yourself in ?