Job Discussion Forums

[biffinbridge]

Having recently done one, I thought I'd post a checklist for the novices out there.Remember the following-
1.)Do your credit cards upto the max if you have bank cards that belong to the local banks..even consider a loan.
2.)Get mates who are staying behind to become your future references.
3.)If in the Middle East break the contract with regard to furniture allowances etc.No western country will ever send you back to the Middle East to face a court.
4.)Only give good mates contact addresses.
5.)Get a new passport with a different passport number and then you can even go back to the Middle East...godforbid.
6.)Remember,you owe your employer nothing.
7.)Don't listen to TEFL bores who bang on about integrity...it doesn't exist in this industry.

[dyak]

So tell us why you did a runner...

[D.O.S.]

[dyak]

Sighs... the pomposity on this forum is unbelievable sometimes... there are plenty of questions I want to ask but I always hesitate, feeling like 'prey' for the self-rightous to bestow their condescending and patronising advice on.

I was merely interested in what can happen as I�m going abroad in September, yes� for the first time� yes� naivety� blah blah blah� and if I should already know then why is this the,

[lajzar]

If you're going to do a runner...

First, I'm going to assume that the employer lacked integrity in enough key areas that the runner is justified

But what's this nonsense about maxing credit cards, and getting a bank loan from a local bank?

By all means, screw an employer that is hellbent on screwing you But focus your wrath on the justified target. The bank hasn't done anything to you. Don't screw the bank. Unless of course they too have done something unfair beyond the terms of your freely entered agreement. The school screwed you and should rightfully receive payback. All the bank is going to see is foreign customer screwed them for no good reason.

Remember: Seek vengeange only against the justified target of that wrath.

[Capergirl]

Count me in with the runners. I did the midnight run, too. It is too bad there is not a way to negotiate a contract to end sooner when circumstances are not satisfactory for either party in some countries. In South Korea and Taiwan, foreign teachers are expected to strictly adhere to the conditions of the contract, whereas employers can pretty much alter their portion of the agreement whenever and however it suits them.

The short version of my runner (and not too short, at that) is as follows: My then-boyfriend and I were unfortunate enough to be teaching in South Korea when the economy crashed in 1997. Although our salaries stayed the same in won, the exchange rate was pitiful and we had bills to be paid at home. Then there was a bailout by the IMF, which resulted in a nationwide anti-foreigner sentiment. It was unbelievable....people spit on us, called us names, taxis wouldn't pick us up, and so on. The final "straw" for me was having a gun put to my temple by a local police officer. As it was, we had been struggling with the company and its two directors, who basically farmed their foreign teachers out to schools all over Chonju (I was teaching at 8-10 different schools each week). Work conditions weren't terrible, but there definitely were problems. We were constantly being asked to work overtime and getting overtime pay was like pulling teeth. Ditto getting reimbursed for transportations costs (which was in our contracts). Every month, we had to fight to get paid the 1.2 million won we were promised in our contracts (our employers whited out the amount and wrote 1 million won in its place). Some pay days, we sat and argued for hours until we got what we were owed. Our employers also seemed to think I was a "girl for hire" of some kind, asking that I go along with male teachers and principals who wished to videotape me for reasons best known to themselves. So for all those reasons, among others, we were already on shaky ground with our employers when the economy took a nosedive.

How we did the midnight run: We emptied our bank accounts prior to going on vacation in Thailand for Chinese New Year. We had also prearranged plane tickets for home from Seoul leaving one day after we arrived back in Korea, which was actually the date we were supposed to get back from our vacation. In truth, we came back from Thailand a day earlier than we had told our employers we would be back so they wouldn't know we were missing until we were safely in Canada. The day of our departure, we quietly hopped on the train to Seoul with all of our bags and got on a plane to Canada. The only problem was that I was detained at the airport for a few hours because I didn't have a multiple entry visa. After a lot of BS-ing and some reluctance on the part of airport officials, I was able to purchase a multiple entry visa right there and was allowed to continue on my way. After we left, several of our Canadian friends who worked for the same company did the midnight run as well. I do not regret my decision to leave given the circumstances, but I do wish my experience in Korea had been different.

@biffinbridge...Breaking a contract is one thing but I have a problem with the fact that you felt you had to steal in order to exact some kind of vengeance on your employer(s) and the local bank(s).

[aaronschwartz]

There is a time for everything under the sun.

Sometimes it is better to stand and fight. Sometimes it is better to run so you can stand and fight another day.

Each decision is individual based upon the situation and your tollerance level.

Running is not bad but stealing, well you reduce yourself to their level. Why not stay because you have become just like them?

[Wolf]

Capegirl's experience is not unique. Look at the Korean forum. Midnight runs are common there (or at least with posters to that forum.)

In Japan you're legally entitled to break an employment contract - for any reason - as long as you give notice. You keep your govnernment issued work permit. There's no need to run from the country to escape the company - unless you want to.

If the law and your employer leave you no choice (a common occurance in South Korea where work visas are tied to a job) then of course run - do it quickly and quietly.

[Stephen Jones]

Dear Doors (open after the horse has bolted),
Any way you could drop a private line to say where you did a runner from?

[dmb]

Doors, you did lose your deposit on the flat though.( You should have seen JJ. He was furious when I told him you weren't returning.)