Job Discussion Forums

[reog]

how do you delete old messages?

[ezekiel]

Hi reog..I live in Medan and a friend of mine has worked seasonally for IEC for a few years now..a few others will have some info, too..I will get back to you tomorrow

salam

ezekiel

[TEAM_PAPUA]

[Llamalicious]

Perhaps he means even friendlier?

[reog]

Thanks for the info Ezekiel. The system won't allow me to respond to you privately.

[reog]

It was just over a year ago that I started this thread in attempt to find out a little about IEC, Medan. Having just completed my first year with the school, here is my response to myself.


I have been employed for 35 years. I have been teaching English in Indonesia for 12, and not until I got to the International Education Centre (IEC, Medan) have I had a boss/manager that seemed to find so much pleasure in the knowledge of the control he had over his employees.
I have been paid every cent the company owed me, and I am one of few teachers that have received their full, 13th-month bonus, so my complaints with the school are not due to a feeling that the company owes me anything, but because of the school�s lack of appreciation for its staff, and the director�s penchant for using his staff�s youth and inexperience (as both employee and expat) to manipulate and control them (still preferring to payoff government officials in order to maintain his right to employ ineligible employees and exploit his staff).


IEC and I started out well enough. After only 3 months with the company, the director asked me to apply for the position of AC, which was to become available 3 months later. I got the position easily�and while I do feel I had the necessary credentials, the fact is nobody else wanted wanted the position. (The teacher with the most seniority told me if I was hoping to change anything, I was �wasting my time�).

During the 3 months prior to becoming acting AC, I spent my time talking to teachers about their concerns, and before accepting the job I prepared a long list of goals and expectations, hoping to quell the growing number of teacher complaints (with which I agreed), and hoping to reduce the high turnover of teachers.
My ultimatum: ALL punitive salary deductions must be eliminated, and 2-way communication (allowing staff to critique management) be encouraged.




�If you make the teacher�s job easy, they won�t respect you� claimed school director, Tony Tjoe, and due to our disagreement about how staff should be handled, I lasted only 1 week in the position.


Six months later, as my teaching contract was coming to an end, I entered negotiations for a second contract (as teacher). I expected some difficulty with the director because I had been deemed �unsuitable� for the position of AC, but I fully expected to be able to reach some kind of agreement.
A few days later, with that usual smile on his face, the director handed me his contract offer and asked me not to discuss it with the other teachers. (It didn�t actually need discussion, except to confirm suspicions that management was offering a better payment package to new, untried teachers willing to move to Indonesia than they were offering to respected, experienced teachers already residing in Indonesia�including any teachers already on staff).


So the purpose of this post is not actually to bitch and complain about IEC (Medan)�it provided valuable experience�but to warn interested applicants.


�DO NOT accept the job based on the �condensed contract� the school provides before you arrive�details (in the school�s favour) have been omitted. On the upside, contracts are often re-negotiated after teachers arrive in Medan�sometimes in their favour

�IEC (Medan) has 3 teaching locations as well as a sister school SIA (Singapore International Academy) which provides a more formal education using the Singapore national curriculum. It is not uncommon for teachers to be hired for one business entity and then informed they will be teaching at the other entity only after they arrive. Many teachers prefer SIA, but not all. Confirm which school you�re going to be placed at before you arrive.

�before you are hired you will be told that teaching schedules are generally limited to 17-18 contact hours per week. After you are hired you will be reminded that the contract states 25.5 contact hours per week, and if you are teaching less, you should �consider yourself lucky�

�it is not often that teachers will be asked to teach overtime, but in the event that it does happen, the burden of assuring overtime payment rests on the teacher. When teachers assist with overtime-teaching duties, management prefers to overlook payment and suggests reducing the number of �stand-by-in-office-with-nothing-to-do hours�.

�you will only be appreciated as a staff member until the next new teacher arrives

�policy infringements affecting job performance will not be discussed directly with employees until used as reasons for employees not being eligible for full, end-of-contract bonuses (unless the infringement is having tattoos, needing a haircut, or wearing running shoes in the office)

�the contract will offer you 10 sick days per year, but you are not officially informed that your end-of-contract bonus will be reduced if you use more than 2.

�the housing pictures displayed on the IEC website are 10 years old; the house has not been thoroughly cleaned or repaired since; the other teacher�s house is subject to REGULAR break-ins which lock-changing doesn�t prevent and which the school refuses to take any responsibility for. (School management suggests ghosts are responsible for stealing lots of money, lots of electronic goods, and lots of women�s underwear).

�when you begin discussion with IEC, you will be told that the contract you receive is non-negotiable--this however is not true. Only the first-year salary (presently set at 6.5million rupiah per month) is not negotiable. Some newly arrived teachers have been able to negotiate return airfares as high as US$1700 (depending on home country) and an optional monthly housing allowance as high as 500,000rph per month (rarely used). NEGOTIATE BEFORE YOU ARRIVE!! Anything paid begrudgingly will be used as reason to reduce your 13th-month bonus.

�local teachers BEWARE!! Every infringement you make (speaking Hokkien, punching in two minutes late--even if you make it to class on time, wearing an incomplete uniform, not completing a lesson plan) is punishable by salary deduction (one IEC teacher was paid 42,000rph for teaching his class and then charged 50,000rph for not preparing the lesson plan.)



It's not a bad place to work, it's just that nobody from office boys to secretaries to English teachers likes the director.

If you do apply, ask about employee turnover.

[polo III]

I just finished my contract with IEC. I agree with most of reog's post. I'd like to give my two cents...

I was exploited by not getting my full airfare refunded as advertised. IEC paid my way(roundtrip) from My hometown to Jakarta. When I mentioned airfare (roundtrip) from medan to Jakarta, director gave a little smirk and said that's all he'll pay.

Free Medical? I got bronchitis and IEC only paid half my medical bills. Another teacher had similiar illness and bill amount. 100% of his bills were paid. According to contract, IEC only pays $50 (us) a month towards hospital/medical bills. When I complained, they paid half my bills.

My financial disputes with IEC happened at end of my contract. Other issues like housing, school conditions, policies and other incidents went on all year.

One of the IEC provided teachers house is located in the middle of a prostitution area. An 18yr old, female, teacher was beaten, robbed, driven to a remote area and almost raped. She escaped by punching in the face with house keys. The IEC director told her to get over it and go back to work two days later.

I don't think we matter much at IEC.

[beerman]

Reog and polo III, I'm sorry but I think you are too much about IEC. In fact, the three years I spent working with the school were the best years in Indonesia. Well, you can't expect to have a perfect workplace that serves you as a king. I did entered into some argumentation with the school director, but they all ended up well. I think you must have approached him with our western style (I realized that this is not acceptable in Indonesia) by being too out loud.

The only thing I know is that the school director (Tony) is a very nice guy and I'm still in touch with him up to today. As long as you put your head down and work hard, he's the type of 'here you are' person. However, it's just true that he never likes people telling him what to do or coming into his office just to complain and ask for stupid things. I remembered my fellow teacher telling Tony that she wanted the school to provide a bathtub in the house for her to relax on the weekend. She was sent out of the office right away.

I don't have anything to say about the rape incident as it's something outside the school. However, from the academic side, I think the school is a great place. Not perfect, but enjoyable. Tell me a school that treats the staff perfectly. Every school has their plus and minus. We have to accept that.

[Nabby Adams]

Hmm, always nice to get a post supporting a school even if it is written in some, what shall we say, less than native fluency.

Where ya from Beery?

[Mr_Magoo]

[malu]

[Nabby Adams]

But then again isn't this why we love Indoneisa?

I mean, come one, can you imagine school directors posing as staff and give false write ups in say the Japanese forum?

Indonesia- the land of 100 million Del boys. (for the Brits out there)

[reog]

[manabout_town]

Hi, I was talking to a Canadian girl who wrote on eslteachersboard.com in April 2010 and this ''beerman'' who wrote here is the A.C. or D.O.S. working there, the same guy, I think his name is Gunawan Chandra, who actually employs the foreign teachers. This guy has some real cheek to post something like that in defence of a school where teachers were robbed, cheated on, deceived, and the list goes on and on. This guy is nothing short of a lier and a con-artist. That Candian girl had some real interesting things to say. I have also contacted the other teacher on that post and awaiting his reply to get more facts. It seems they gave him a flight ticket and asked him to deceive IMMIGRATION. Thats a jail offence just right there. Will keep you posted . Just beware and take care....