Job Discussion Forums

[milo baggins]

Here's some background: I was hired to teach in China for a year. The organization that hired me (I'll call them the USCC), knowing that I had no college degree, had me get an "F" visa (business visa), but did not tell me that it was technically illegal for to teach in China under that visa. When I arrived at the school in a small town in China, I was asked what university I had gone to. I told them I had not gone to a university. Nothing was said about this at that time.
A contract was signed, and about a month later, a revised contract was signed. As I had been teaching for a month, I asked that they insert a paragraph stating that they were satisfied with my performance as a teacher at that point. They did this and assured me that they were indeed satisfied.
My contract stated that I was responsible for teaching up to 20 classes a week. After being there about a month, I was asked to be in my office when I was not actually teaching. The reason given was that I should be available to students that wanted to see me for extra help. I wrote a memo saying that I was willing to do so for the students' sake, but that it was voluntary time given and I was not being compensated for it. A few weeks went by and no students ever came to the office. I had no official duties to do, and as I was teaching in every class of the first and second year students, I had to prepare a new topic only once every two weeks, so I had little to do. I had a better computer in my apartment and more items available, so I was able to accomplish more from my apartment than from my office.
One day, a student came to me and asked if he could meet with me in my office for extra help with his english. I said that would be fine and had him give me his name and class. I brought that to the teacher who was the go-between for me and the director and was told that the students were not allowed to see me in my office. I was not happy about this, nor with the dishonesty. I contacted the USCC and told them about it and said that I did not wish to stay in the office during my non-class time. The representative there contacted the school, then told me that she had spoken to the school and there should be no problem about it. So after that I stayed in my apartment during non-class time. Nothing was said about that by the school.
Two weeks ago, I was told that I would no longer be teaching after the middle of December (my contract was specifically through the end of January). I was told that the students needed to prepare for exams and that this was the usual procedure for the school in regard to foreign teachers, that none of them taught beyond the middle of December. I asked if the school intended to honor the contract and if I would be paid. I asked that a few times of two different "go-between" teachers, and never received an answer.
I finally wrote a letter saying the if they paid me what they owed me through the end of the contract, then I would accept 1,000 rmb less than the total amount owed and leave the apartment early so that they would not have heating and electric costs (the apartment was for the use of foreign teachers only and was vacant when there were none). I was told later that the Director and the Headmaster were angry when they read my letter, and that since I would not be teaching, they did not owe me anything. I was further told that since I did not have a college degree, the contract was no good. Understand that they knew at the time they signed the contract that I had no college degree. At this point, it was brought up that they were not happy about my not being in my office during non-class time.
I am told that I will be paid for the time I have taught in December, but I have already been told that it will be less than I am due. I have contacted the USCC, and they are "looking into it". The school wants to know when I will be out of the apartment, and have hinted about deducting from what they owe me for further heat and electric use. They have said that they will pay me my final amount when I am leaving.
I wish to state that my experience has not been all bad. The school was very helpful to me at the beginning of my stay in certain areas. I have very much enjoyed the class times with the students.
I am 51 years old, and have had a significant amount of time teaching classes to adults in a "lay" position. This teaching experience was what was accepted by the USCC in lieu of a college degree. Again, I had no idea that there would be any issue in that regard.
Finally, let me say to those who are considering teaching in China: In the summer of 2006, new laws were enacted to prevent anyone from working for pay in China without a "Z" visa, and though it has been a grey area for a long time, I would not recomment anyone coming without the "Z" visa and a college degree.
Any input or advise from others here?

[Malsol]

MISTAKES TO LEARN FROM:

[jeffinflorida]

Are you still at the school? usually teachers at a college are paid to stay till after the finals have been graded and the term is over. So if they tell you that you are no longer teaching and the only thing left is study and exam time then this may be true BUT IT DOESN'T VOID YOUR CONTRACT.

As far as teaching without a degree, it's not a sin and so many do it and the school knew it before you came so you didn't lie to them

I wouldn't expect help from the USCC, organizations that bring teachers here really seldom help anyone...

If you want to stay in china then look for a new gig. try and get them to pay what the owe you - for the duration of the contract. get a native speaker to go with you to the higher ups. Don't threaten anyone just plea your case and request the money and to be able to stay in your apartment (assuming you are still there...) till you find the next gig.

there are plenty of places that will hire you in china without a degree.

i leaned from experience that when you confront them with their lies or mistakes the chinese take a very defensive postion...

remember they hold all the chopsticks...

[kev7161]

You may be able to find a job easily that will start at the beginning of March but, in the meantime, what will you do for living quarters until then? Or, were you planning on returning home after this contract?

Yeah, it really s ucks when schools pull this kind of stuff and, sadly, there's not much you can do about it. It's you against a "great wall" of administrators who rarely concede on anything, regardless of how good of a job you were doing. Without really knowing your school, I could imagine that this was all pre-planned from the beginning of your tenure so they could save a few yuan. Of course, I don't know YOU either so I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt.

My advice is still fight the good fight, but be making plans on what you'll do next and start getting out there looking for another job NOW if that's what you want to do.

[milo baggins]

Thanks jeffinflorida,
you wrote:
"remember they hold all the chopsticks..."
Yes, I am aware of that. They asked me to vacate my office at the school and they obviously want me out of the apartment and their lives at this point. I did have a sit down session with the Director and a translator-teacher. I did not point out mistakes or errors, or make any demands. They let me know where they stood and I said I would talk to the USCC and see what they said. Asking for more money at this point seems pointless as they are doing everything they can to pay me as little as possible.
When I took this position, I agreed to not seek other positions for a certain period of time. So I am waiting to see if the USCC will follow through on their commitments to me. If they don't, then I can honorably seek other work, since they will not have lived up to their part of the contract. To me, it is not the contract which is most important, it is a person's word. If one goes back on one's word, then there is no honor, and they cannot be trusted. There is always room for discussion, renegotiation, and change, but there must be honor, or all contracts or agreements are pointless.

[milo baggins]

Thanks to you, too, kev7161.
One more factor in this is that the USCC agreed to reimburse me for my ticket to China within one month of arriving here. There have been some glitches there and I still haven't received that, though I still (optimistically) expect to. I was told when I came that if I completed my one year obligation of teaching, then they would pay for my return ticket, but if I didn't finish the year, I would be on my own. So I must tread carefully here. Right now, I have little money to go on.
I married a Chinese national in early October, and we could, as a last resort, stay with her sister, though it would take most of what money we have left to take the train back to her home city.

[OGFT]

PM Clark G. he has the experience (so he says) to sort this kind of thing out...check into the mediations he posted about earlier...

[vikdk]

'fraid you can't do anything - even though the school broke the law by hiring you without a degree, they have the gaunxi connections to be able to make sure any small legal problems never surface. Where as you - lone FT - no gaunxi - no qualifications to be a teacher - and finaly having to bite that bullet which makes you realise that legally you are just as responsible for not upholding regulations as any recruiters or school that are involved in your employment.

As far as Clark is concerned - well he always harps on that there is help for folk working legally - in this case with mysterious revised contracts, visa irregularities and regulations being loopholed - I'm afraid his words will surely sound just as unhelpfull as mine. And if you were legal - and this proverbial legal help did exist - then, I'm pretty sure, in your financial situation - you would have used your last fen a long long time before any kind of agreement would have been reached on your employment situation.

My advice - damage control through a quick retreat - pack bags - get somewhere where there is some winter work - 'fraid you have to start from scratch again. By the way folks - I don't know of any winter work - anybody got any tips for this guy in that direction???

[englishgibson]

Clark ...he'll provide you with the list of schools in China and Taiwan...his experience does not go beyond the back seat of a Chinese police car (or those forums)

I'd follow vikdk's suggestion above, if I were you OP.

OP, I also feel sorry for what has happened to you. It's a real shame that some schools abuse FTs office hours to such extend. I mean if you are to provide any "help" to your students off and away from classroom hours that is rather ambiguous. I hope you have learnt and will not come to such agreement unless it is specified what kind of help.

There are many opportunities in China, however look out since there are so many employers that have little clue to what teaching English is as well as to what work ethics are. Further more, many Chinese employers confuse their employees' flexibility for the employees rights to their own private lives.

Good luck to ya
and
cheers and beers to all hard working FTs in China

[clark.w.griswald]

milo, I join the others in sympathies for you as you seem like a pretty decent person just trying to make a go of it here in China.

Unfortunately you were working illegally no matter what the USCC (I assume that this is some sort of recruitment organization in the US??) and the school told you. As others have pointed out, the practice of working on an F visa and without a degree is pretty common place, and in many cases there are no problems, but it is still illegal, and when working illegally you are working outside of the protection that the law can offer.

Personally I think that it is terrible behavior for any school or recruitment company to tell you this sort of thing is okay as it is the foreign teacher who is going to be most vulnerable, but then this is why many people including myself are such advocates of research and preparations before coming to China. Perhaps if you had looked into this a bit more before you came then you would have at least known that it was illegal work and you would then have been able to make an informed decision about whether you wanted to take the job or not.

Fortunately it seems that you had an otherwise pretty good experience at the school and with the students, so perhaps thats a positive for you.

I think that it would be a good idea to name the recruitment firm and the school so that any future teachers who are considering them will be able to find this thread by googling their names. This may help other teachers in a similar situation from unwittingly working illegally.

As you are married to a local, and perhaps considering spending some time in China, perhaps you could look into finding employment along the lines of what you have experience with back home. You can be legally employed in that field here in China if you have documentable proof of experience and can find a similar job here. This may be a better choice than accepting another job working illegally as an English teacher. That way you will be protected and if anything like this happens again you will be in a better position to take a stand against your employer.

[prof]

[clark.w.griswald]

[vikdk]

[Steppenwolf]

My warmest sympathies for the year-end trouble that's coming your way; let's hope you do get your money from your recruiter (airfare) and can enjoy your winter holidays.

If you want a new job, a better go-between would be Buckland in Yangshuo who would place you somewhere else than Yangshuo itself, yet offer you optimal working conditions.

Now as for your recent experiences: I am afraid you were not acting totally in the spirit of the contrtacts you signed. Your employer asked you to spend some time in their office - that's by no means unusual or even illegitimate though the reasons they gave YOU were blatant lies.
They usually do that to undermine your efforts at lining your pockets through work outside of their school, and they require Chinese teachers to sit many useless hours in offices and through meetings.

In taking that initiative of writing a "memo" you probably caused a stir and some friction between them and your recruiter - now they are taking their revenge!

It is not entirely illegal to work on an 'F' visa but the question is: where did you obtain your visa?

My impression is that your employer is illegitimate; in such cases you can do very little apart from rousing interested parties. Prof thinks you could reach a "settlement" by alerting the Education Bureau; nothing could be further from the truth! The Bureau may be helpful but in the enbd, they are powerless to implement any settlement since they are not provided with any executive powers. They could negotiate on yourbehalf - but not more!

[7969]

best thing to do is sit tight at that school, and try to negotiate for as much money as they owe you. try to stay in that flat as long as you can and dont show any sign that you're ready to give up so easily. if you do, you're finished and you wont see a red yuan. try to stick it out there till a few days before your visa ends or the term ends. if they see they cant scare you off, they may just cave in and give you what you're asking for.

my last employer tried to shortchange me several thousand yuan in june of this year. i made every indication to them that i wasnt leaving till i got what i was owed. in the end, i stayed there till a few days before my visa expired, didnt waver, exhibited great patience, called the schools bluff***, and i ended up getting all but 2000 rmb that i was owed. yeah i should have got that too, but i simply ran out of time and had to leave and i thought it better to take 90% of what they owed instead of risking that for another 2000.

*** the school told me that in order to claim all my end of contract benefits, i would have to work the entire month of july training their teachers. as i knew this was complete BS i agreed immediately and asked where my teaching plan for july was. of course there was no teaching to be done, and they knew i had called them out on it........ by the way i was also on an F visa at that place (however thats another story).

stand up and fight for what you deserve milo. from reading your posts it looks like youre ready to roll over and let them win.