Job Discussion Forums

[mr pink]

There's a lot of good advice on this board for getting release letters and how to deal with lieing, two-faced schools that don't care about contracts and promises. However, any advice for my particular situation would be appreciated.

I'll just start at the beginning. I signed a one year contract with a middle school. We agreed on a set number of classes. I get my schedule and it has twice as many as that. This wasn't a mistake they tell me...basically the headmaster and assistant principal lied in order to get me to come to their school. They beg me to stay and say that they can't get anyone else to help. The worst part is that the extra classes are paid at half the going rate for the city.

I'm not the kind of person that thinks money is everything. I thought I was dealing with a school that would be able to make up for it in other ways, like better facilities, excellent students, respect....etc.

Let me be the first to say that there are no fringe benifits, that getting respect is impossible. Complaining about pipes bursting, rats in the attic, constant power outs...is par for the course.

There are many more examples that I can't think of at the moment, but what pushed me over the edge was a call during Spring Festival. I'm ordered to teach "training" classes for some students. And the school didn't even want to pay me at first.

By this time I was tired of it all. The new semester starts and I refused to teach the extra classes because they aren't in my contract and I get treated like garbage. The school freaked out for a few days, we negotiated for two weeks, but then they came up with a brilliant idea. They combined the classes from my previous schedule into 14 big classes. I get what I wanted, which was the original agreement of 14 classes. However, the big classes (about 60 students each) will certainly cut down the amount of learning for the students and be very difficult to handle. Should I accept this schedule?

My relationship with the school is down the tubes, which makes for more frustration and more suprises down the road. I'm the last foreign teacher left. They refuse to get any more and probably won't fire me unless I set fire to the school.

The big problem is that I want to stay in the same city until the summer. I understand the importance of release letters for getting a new work visa, but I already have my visa, green book, etc. Do I even need a release letter? How do I escape from a school that doesn't want to give up its last laowai or am I giving them too much credit?

Your advice will be much appreciated.

mr pink

[Lanza-Armonia]

Has one heard of the 'mid-night run'? (I am not refering to the Popular PS2 game either...

LA

[lagerlout2006]

As I can make sense of this you will need A) a release letter.
B) Do a visa run off the mainland. They may be goofs but they are the ones that gave you Foreign Expert status. You cannot just look for another job. Assuming that is they are legal and got you your documents. Especially if you want to stay in the same city. Talk it out with them if you can . If not be prepared for a HK holiday.

[mr pink]

Lanza-- If I didn't want to stay in the city, then a runner would do just fine. Thx the same.

Lagerlout-- You supposed right about the situation. From what I understand, I'd need a release letter to deal with the paper work.

All of my Chinese friends and coworkers that I've talked to have basically said the whole thing is a trick and an insult-- combining classes and getting a lower pay with the same number of students. They said that the school has done this because a foreign teacher has no face, so there's no harm in answering a request for respect with an insult aimed at revenge. I was happy to just get what I agreed to in my contract, but I've decided to play their game.

You really don't understand the things people on this forum say over and over-- the contracts don't mean anything, the school thinks they own you, saving face is half the problems--until you wake up one day and you realize you've been treated like a dog for the past six months. I've read some horrific stories. I think many other people have had worse treatment than myself. My school didn't rob me. They simply lied, misled, and were busy exploiting me. I can't compare myself to the people who get their salary stolen, get fired a week before contract completion, have to live in dumps that don't have running water.

I'm comparing myself to how a human being should be treated. There is no respect for one another in China, not the tiniest bit for the people in the countryside or the foreigners who happen to come along.

Ironically, I'm taking what I would consider Chinese advice. Tomorrow morning is meeting number five, this time with everyone from the headmaster down to the waiban. My counter offer is demanding more money, split the big classes into smaller classes and meet with the students every other week.

I don't really want more money or an easier job. Somewhere in this mess is a man who wants respect.

[dishuiguanyin]

Have you tried threatening your school with the FAO of either your city or your province? I've found that an innocently-made suggestion that maybe our negotiations should be taken to these "higher authorities" has helped in a few tricky situations.
I've never actually gone to them, so I don't know how much help they would be, but it's worth a shot if you're desparate.
From what you say, you've got no grounds to take the school to court (and it wouldn't really be very advisable since it would be a long, expensive and unpredictable process) but I would also suggest taking an independent translator (ie not someone from your school) and going quietly to visit a local Chinese lawyer. Some independent legal advice about your contract might give you a better understanding of what's going on, put things into a better perspective and possibly even open up new avenues to explore.
Finally, there's also the good old fall-back of completely, totally and utterly losing your temper and making a lot of noise (but no physical violence). If your school has always seen you as sane, rational, logical and calm, then an irrational outbreak can have a tremendous shock value. (Warning: this doesn't work if the school already think you're over-emotional.)

[Roger]

"Good advice is costly" as they say in Germany; you must have your own reasons for wanting to stay put in that town. Would you have an alternative employer if you did a midnight runner?
I wouldn't be too afraid of the authorities in your case, otherwise you should have the same chance of getting a fair arbitration.
This you cannot take for granted. The next best place to seek redress would be the relevant education bureau; they are impotent, though, but a strong word from them to your school might be helpful.
Have they paid up so far, - travelling allowance? Do you stand to get airfare at the end of your term?

I would rule out the enlistment of a lawyer - too tricky, costly and untested!

[mr pink]

Thanks all for the suggestions. Luckily this forum is free

Where I'm at, there aren't too many other schools that can hire a FT legally and the semester has already started. Again, the trick is that I wanted to stay in the same city. The more you get tied to a place, the more difficult it is deal with working here.

In the end I worked it out with the headmaster. I got a few concessions, a few apologies, and a lot of satisfaction puting my foot down.

Finally I can get back to teaching.

thanks again

mr pink

[MyTurnNow]

Excellent! This is ALWAYS the best solution.....IF you can get there.

MT