Job Discussion Forums

[Steppenwolf]

In such a dire situation hope is your best investment, hope and tea!

Workers' rights are relatively unprotected in spite of written - but unenforcable! - contracts.

Your colleagues' best bet is to play at being meek and obedient in the hope the school will treat them "leniently".

Maybe you have noticed these past years: public schools have over-expanded. Many have gone on a construction binge for which they got plenty of credits and loans without any tangible corollary.
I know a case of a school that has over 200 teachers under their wings, and maybe 2000 students to look after.
They are an elite school and can be choosy in who they admit. You can guess who makes it into their classrooms...

Only high-school students pay tuition; middle schoolers are tuition-free. The salaries of the teachers get covered by the province; tuition is supposed to finance new investments...

Here is the bizarre: the teachers (Chinese) get 12 monthly salaries plus two bonuses equal to a month's pay each; these payments come from the GOVERNMENT, not from the school...
Mysteriously, the two bonuses have not been paid to those teachers now for over one year (they were due at the end of last year); the school explained they were cash-strapped...which, in the rface of a 15 million loan for the building of a new school wing, is understandable.
The school organises extra-curricular classes for which it gets extra tuition from parents, which are used to pay off debts...

Last weekend, my girlfriend and allher Chinese collagues (no FT!) were made to clean the buildings and paint walls and doors... for a risible 10 kuai each.

Did they organise a strike, or did they walk out? Of course not...and the ten kuai in wages had to be given back to the school...for the canteen food they got served!

Then the school decided to hire professionals who had to be paid for by...the teachers! Each of them was asked to contribute 25 kuai towards the hiring of these labourers.

No teacher stands any chance of getting their overdue wages lost over the last twelve months, or be paid for this kind of corvee labour!

[vikuk]

steppenwolf writes -

[Babala]

Thanks for the input from everyone. What I am really wondering about is if the school chooses to enforce the fine and they return to the Nanjing PSB, what do you think their ruling would be?

[OGFT]

The contract calls for fines if there is non performance....and there was an act of non performance.

[Babala]

I agree, however the contract also calls for the teachers to be paid on a certain date every month. This wasn't done either.

After reading this situation, what would you have done? Would you have continued working or would you have stopped until you received your back pay?

[clark.w.griswald]

[abusalam4]

Strike would be a fine thing to do... if:

- it was legal
- if you had a sufficient number of other peopole joining you to really put pressure on the leadership... etc.

If the school has breached the contract, it would be a bit far-fetched to consider leaving that school as a primary way of reaction. First, you should try to talk it over with them and see if you can reach a solution under "mutual consulation and good-will" (that passage was in my contract).

If this does not work and the school still continues to violate the the terms of the contract, the next step I would consider is seeing the Bureau of Foreign Experts in the province where the school is situated. Among other things, their role is also one of arbitration and mediation in case that some serious disputes over working conditions arise that cannot be resolved by mutual consultation among the parties concerned alone.

Only in case when all the previous steps do not work out and the school still continues to breach the contract should you consider leaving immediately before the end of your contract period. If you decide to do so, do it secretly under all circumstances and do not tell anyone - do not tell your friends, students, colleagues, etc. There have been some cases where the school has tried prevent people from leaving in locking them up or by other illegal means.

Also, please bear in mind that in case of complaining to official bodies like the Bureau of Foreign Experts in your province, you should better have legal status, i.e. be the holder of a Z visa, residence permit, etc. If not (e.g., you only have an F visa) you better stay away from such a place and just leave. Otherwise, if they find you are working illegally without work permit/residence permit and all that, they may fine you and give yoi a hard time.

The brief answer to your question is : strike - no but there other ways to make your voice heard! Just think it over and be careful to do the right thing according to the needs of your situation.

Good luck!

[Babala]

I should add that before the teachers stopped working, they did numerous times try and speak with the FAO. They were told the money is in your account and a trip to the bank had uncovered that lie. They kept getting different answers, none being true.

In hindsight, I think a trip to the PSB right away would have been the best action but I know I would have a hard time going to work when I was unsure that I would ever be paid.

I'll let you know the outcome at the end of the month when their salary is due.

[jamesmollo]

[Babala]

No, if this were my situation I would have stated that. My friend doesn't post on Dave's, I was just trying to get some information to help her.

[Yu]

I would say that a stike is not the way to solve the problem here. Chinese things are based on relationships. I would have gone to PSB but continued working.

[Babala]

Just wanted to give an update (cause I hate when people don't let you know what happened). My friend was paid her full salary