Job Discussion Forums

[Sly22]

The placement company I work for hasn't paid me since the begining of december. I was due to get paid on january 1st but my agent wouldn't answer her phone or respond to my messages until the 20th, she wanted to renew my passport and visa and assured everything was fine. I showed up to sign the new contract as she assured me I would get paid right after Chinese New year. I've gone back to work now and been calling her every day and sending her messages since new year ended and she never picks up or returns my calls. I'm starting to think I'm never going to get paid and I'm not really sure what the best way to go about this is. I was thinking of explaining this to the school I work at, but knowing how helpful they can be I'm sure they would rather complain to the company and just get them to replace me instead of trying to help.

Help. I just had to entertain 3 visitors in a row from back home and I'm on my last 1000 here. If I get nothing from her I'm really screwed.

[kjk_esl]

You might be screwed there my friend but lets hope not. First off you should be getting paid from your school not by a recruiter. Did this recruiter get you your working visa and foreign experts cert.? This is suppose to be done by your school if I am not mistaken. I would contact the Foreign Expert Dept. of your city/province and complain to them but chances they are being paid off by this recruiter. The recruiter might have strong guanxi with the FE Dept if their offices are in the same city/province. Inform both parties that your going to inform your embassy of this problem and also I would contact the local tax dept too see if the recruiter is paying your taxes for you (be sure that you are being deducted tax first on this point as you do not want to go there and end up with getting egg on your face). I took these steps with my last school and it landed them in hot water and cost them a lot of money and put them on thin ice with the local FE Dept. When you are to be paid is written done in your SAEFA contract or what ever the name of the national contract the we are suppose to sign. Your school is "suppose" to be paying you a fine a written in the contract but this is hardly ever enforced if it is the employer is the one who has broken the contract.

Also tell who it is that you are working for and your contact persons name at this recruiting office? Let everyone know here who it is that is shafting you as it can help to inform other to keep away from this recruiter.

I hope that you are able to get paid here as it puts a bad taste in your mouth about your time in China.

[Totemic]

Tough spot to be in, OP. My suggestion is to corner this woman and ramp up your belligerence to the extreme (don't hit anything or use profanity).

In my experience dealing with Chinese in such matters, I've learned two things (generalized, of course):

1. They do not handle direct confrontation well. It frightens them.
2. To escape from such situations, they will do anything to deflect the blame on to you.

If you go in and smack a table or cuss her out, that will become the focus of her defense, and she'll use it to suck you into a vortex of illogic. If you go in screaming that you need your money (while refusing to accept any of her counterpoint defenses), the 'blame' (and loss of face) will remain entirely hers.

If you manage to bully her into paying up, though, prepare a hasty exit plan, because she will launch a counterstrike (because you cost her face, by forcing her to pay ).

These type of folks (in my experience) are sneaky and deceitful, but also malevolent. Until she soothes her petulance by 'getting you back', her noodles will just never taste the same.

Best of luck.

[Totemic]

[kev7161]

Phone calls and emails RARELY work. You need face-to-face confrontations. Tell your school you are taking a day off to go straighten out this situation. You're not getting paid, surely your school should understand that no money equals no work. Of course, TIC (This is China) so logic often flies right out the window. Good luck.

[Hansen]

Working but not getting paid= DUMB

Stop teaching.
Insist that you be paid immediately.
If you are not paid, don't go back to class. Pack up and leave.
If you are not prepared to pack up and leave, be prepared to continue working, not get paid and then be terminated.

[Sly22]

[7969]

sly22, there are a few stories similar to yours in the archives here. they always seem to end badly.

if you have enough money (or access to credit card) then i suggest quitting now. move on and find something else. these people you're dealing with cant be trusted.

[Itsme]

You need to go to her office in person and ask for your money. Say you need it for living expenses or whatever.
no need to throw a tantrum
no need to just walk off and call it a day.
Just go in and tell her you need the money in like 5 minutes.

[7969]

this guy hasnt been paid for more than ten weeks!!! the school/recruiter probably knows he's out of cash and as a result is holding 4 aces while the broke foreign teacher has a pair of 2s.

if at all possible, its time for him/her to cut their losses and move on. waiting even five minutes more only weakens his position.

[Hansen]

The situation that you described is a bad one to be in. Lot's of people to burn you. The guy you call cool, he's the shill like figure in the scam.

Since they have your visa, you are really in a bad situation. Good possibility you may not be getting it back any time soon. You are not being paid and you can't leave. Think this is a coincidence?

Contact the Foreign Affairs Office of the province in which you reside.

[Sly22]

I contacted my embassy and they said they will get back to me, I will also contact the foreign affairs office, for what its worth.

If the worst comes out of this (they don't pay me, don't give me my visa) at least I will have learned a good lesson, which is in China you really need to have an escape route/fund when dealing with these companies. I would normally have money saved but I had family visit for two weeks at the start of january, then a few days after they left a friend from back home came to visit for a week. Going out for lunch/dinner/shows ect trying to entertain guests isn't cheap, and I had to dig deep.

On the bright side despite the economic crisis I've been getting job offers left and right, so I'm sure if this doesn't work out I'll be fine.

[therock]

If you don't have your passport go and demand it back and then quit. Were you working on an F visa? The new semester is about to start, so you should be able to find another job.

[kev7161]

[Sonnibarger]

hate to read stuff like this.. best of luck man I hope it turns out to be a good story to tell and not a reason to resent your time in China.