Job Discussion Forums

Llamalicious · Posted: Sat Jun 09, 2007 7:00 pm Post subject:

Edit: double post

Cardinal Synn · Joined: 01 Nov 2004 Posts: 586

Salam · Posted: Mon Jun 11, 2007 1:30 pm Post subject:

Well I am assuming he was the DOS due purely to his apparent age. I do wish she had called, she maybe could have got a job at my school. Hopefully all is working out for her and the place has improved somewhat since recent posts.

wannaBguru · Joined: 07 Dec 2005 Posts: 110

ran into a woman a couple of months ago who had just broken her contract with the swara group after 3 months. she was working at the BSD location and her main gripe (out of many) was that they hadnt gotten her a KITAS. she said that most of the teachers were working on tourist visas or business visas. evidently the school has grown alot in the last several years and they have more teachers than allotted visas . she told me that after they had used up their quota, they started using some of the unused visas from bogor. after they had finished those off, they just used business and tourists visas. she said whenever immigration came by, all the teachers had to run over to the ITC and hide. reminded me how the same group would send their teachers scurrying around megamall pluit every time immigration showed up there.

as an added bonus, she said that agus (wife mustika owns the franchaises) is planning to build a huge house for all the teachers, approx. 20 of them. that way the money deducted for housing goes in his pocket. hard enough to get 4/5 teachers to live in a group house without having lots of personality clashes. maybe he is building it like a large kost or something.

could be that she was just making up stuff and angry, but she seemed believable enough and is quite happy in her new job. and sounds about normal for this group.

malu · Joined: 22 Apr 2007 Posts: 1344 Location: Sunny Java

No one in authority has ever given me a convincing explanation of the 'visa quota' system, but it sure as hell exists. Can anyone here shed any light on it?

Swara's BSD operation comes under Tangerang imigrasi who are notoriously tight-@rsed - I know of a natplus school in that area that has to register some of its FT's as south Jakarta residents because their Tangerang 'quota' is measly.

Cardinal Synn · Joined: 01 Nov 2004 Posts: 586

Llamalicious · Posted: Tue Jun 12, 2007 4:08 pm Post subject:

Yes, the visa story sounds about right. In fact I know of relatively few EFs where all (or even a majority) of teachers are working legally. When teachers ask the management to rectify the situation they are often informed that it is "new EF policy."

Now I'm more cynical than some, but I can't quite get myself to believe that breaking the law is actual, sanctioned standard procedure - yes, even for EF.

It seems more likely that a group of scum-suckers (sorry - owners) have got together and compared evil notes, all the while rubbing their piggy little hands with glee.

FTs may be a mercenary bunch but they're hardly ruthless soldiers of fortune and let the situation slide for too long, thus incriminating themselves. If you've waited, say, three months, or even five weeks, before putting your foot down, you no longer have a leg to stand on (if you'll pardon the mixed cliche/metaphor). A sample dialogue...

Teacher: You do realise I'm now here illegally? This is intolerable!
Scum-sucker: Yes. Your point?
Teacher: Hmm... I could report you!
Scum-sucker: And say what, exactly?
Teacher: That I'm an illegal worker, and... oh... ah...
Scum-sucker: If I may? - and you'd be deported. Making it virtually impossible to work in Indonesia for the next five years and seriously damaging your chances of getting work in another foreign country. Deportation does tend to look bad, you know.
Teacher: I don't care. Screw it. If I'm going down, you're going down with me.
Scum-sucker: Ha ah ha, ah ha ha ha ha. Wait, you were serious? HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA... (ad nauseam)

laughing_magpie06 · Joined: 14 Sep 2006 Posts: 282

I know of one group where the owner was so far into the red with the authorities that he wasn't given the option of offering KITAS to his workers. And the imigrasi office told him they would only issue business visas for six months so he would have to pay more in the long run until the debt was clear. The students in question have KITAS now but there is a lot of funny stuff going on from both sides. What begs the question is if imigrasi punished him by making his teachers illegal workers, why ddint they do a raid at an appropriate time ala 3pm on a weekday?

TEAM_PAPUA · Joined: 24 May 2004 Posts: 1679 Location: HOLE

I am pretty sure that school owners are not physically putting guns to teachers heads when negotiating contracts, though I could be wrong.

Surely, any individual who has the intellect to use the internet to first find a job can also use the internet to research the school?

Of course, there will always be those who believe that the world owes them everything for the simple reason they can speak English. Also, because of this ability to speak English, the most presitigious schools in the country should be falling over each other to recruit them.

T_P

adrian de la touche · Joined: 03 May 2006 Posts: 19 Location: far beyond

i know that the name of ef swalayan/swara/swastika taints all before it, but i'd just like to mention that until only just over a year ago ef bogor was not part of their family and was a blinding place to work; all staff at every level;including the owner,were great.everyone talked to everyone and problems were solved in a rational civilised fashion.
i dont work there now so i cant judge what it is like, but remember that those who were involved worked very hard to create and maintain a wonderful atmosphere to work and learn in.
thanks.

guruengerish · Joined: 28 Mar 2004 Posts: 424 Location: Australia

Comments in these pages refer to teachers being asked to make themselves scarce when Immigrasi appear.

I saw this happen once at an (*F) school in West JKT; the teacher concerned had only just arrived, had a tourist visa, and was told to go - quickly, as Immigrasi were about to arrive.

The poor guy was a quivering wreck, not helped by the fact that once classes started, he was forgotten.

Around the 6pm break, someone found him, and he could hardly stand. He'd been hiding in a warung. He left that night and was never seen again.

Welcome to ESL Indonesian style Crying or Very sad

American_Band_85 · Joined: 20 Jun 2007 Posts: 4 Location: Indonesia

So is this really the way it is? All schools are like this? I posted some of my problems with my school last week, MOD EDIT

I don't work at an EF, but I have had many of the same problems as the OP here plus a few more.

What can poor teachers do to not being abused and get the pay and conditions that we now we are worth?

American_Band_85

hopefully not becoming a troll

ESLninja · Joined: 30 Mar 2007 Posts: 12 Location: Singapore

I truly thought that was a richly ironic parody of the typical complaints we read so often.

MOD EDIT

You are taking the piss, aren't you? You can't *really* be serious that you think the list of 'complaints' you posted eg not getting 3 or 4 days to 'recover' from an aeroplane ride, is in the same category as some of the things people really have a reason to complain about?

beefer · Joined: 10 Feb 2006 Posts: 238 Location: java

Salam · Posted: Tue Jun 26, 2007 6:37 am Post subject:

Well, I actually met the current teachers of this school and they all seemed quite happy with the set-up and conditions. The house they live in (one of three) seems quite nice from what I saw, and in a nice area.

Then again, I think as with any place, who you work with can make ALL the difference. I know that at my current school we have a great bunch for the most part, which makes the days fun and enjoyable. Saying that, I've also worked in places where some of the teachers were truly retarded, and that brings everything down - especially if you have to live with them.

So, yeah, from what I hear and saw, things there now seem fairly sweet.