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tarajane · Joined: 30 May 2005 Posts: 16

look below

tarajane · Joined: 30 May 2005 Posts: 16

Hi,

I am not quite a newbie to ESL teaching, I was a teacher for 1 and a half years in Japan, but this is my first time in China and will probably be my last. I have been here since Nov 05.

My previous co-worker was acting as an agent to secure me for this job. My boss told him to portray the job as it was (for my old co-worker) knowing that he was planning to change the working conditions.

I was told my apartment was furnished and ready before I arrived. After I arrived, it was not ready and I had to spend close to US$250 to properly furnish the apartment.

Soon after I arrived I was told I would be working at least 18 hours as my boss was planning to expand the school. When I asked my co-worker about the contract before I came, he said that the "generally 16-20 hours" in the contract was because it was a standard contract and not everything applied (I assume he was told this when he signed the contract). I was told I would be working 12 hours, half of these participating in my Chinese co-worker's lessons. So I would be actually teaching 6 lessons a week (as my previous co-worker was doing). I am now teaching 15 lessons a week, and participating in 1 lesson with my Chinese co-worker. I know I should not have signed the contract but I was naive and believed people back in those days.

My previous co-worker left at the end of January 06 and my boss had known he was leaving since December 05, and he still has not supplied me with a co-worker. I have been doing my absent co-worker's work for 1 month and 2 weeks. I do not see an end to this. I believe my co-worker will be me! ie my boss is not planning to get a co-worker. I have asked him on numerous occassions but each time I do, he lies (I know this because I am not an idiot, and I talk to my Chinese co-workers, my old co-worker, and the person my boss has(n't) been talking to for the past 2 months about the job). He even lied to me about the new teacher needing a Letter of Invitation to get a visa. That is why I have not talked to another native speaker in 2 months. I live in a small city in An Hui province and apart from a couple who work at the uni and I never see, I am it.

I entered China on a business visa and my co-worker told me my boss would be able to get a work visa. Yeah, stupid I know. My boss did try to get a work visa but he was unable and instead got me a business visa (in Beijing) valid til October 06.

I have had to participate in Public Lessons even though there is no mentioned of them in the contract.

My boss changes things, tells the parents, and gives me minimum notice. Then guilts me into going along as "it's for the students". Yeah, right.

Everytime I tell him that I will not do something because it is not in the contract or because I was promised it by the previous co-worker (who acknowledges that the boss lied to me), I usually get no-where. And he gets extremely angry.

I have been told certain things that later I have found out to be untrue.

My grimes are not as big as some people's troubles but for me, the sum of the total is more than the sum of the parts.

Apart from the visa and my boss constantly springing something on me, without going through the contract with a fine tooth comb, there is not much of a breach in the contract, because a lot of these things were agreed upon by myself and the old co-workers (even when I know my co-worker told my boss about these agreements, he denies knowledge). Yeah, yeah, I think a lot of posts have already mentioned my lack of intelligence.

What I most wanted to know was if I did leave and refused to pay the breach money, could my boss "hunt me down".

Hope this helps
Tara

7969 · Joined: 26 Mar 2003 Posts: 5782 Location: Coastal Guangdong

as someone said before, no, you will not be hunted down. just wait for a weekend, get a train ticket to shanghai and fly out of china. since you said you'd likely never come back again, you've got nothing to worry about. however, as you indicate your boss likes to get very angry, make sure you dont let anyone know you're leaving. that means anyone. dont trust anyone.

jeffinflorida · Posted: Sat Mar 18, 2006 5:03 pm Post subject:

Or, if you want to stay at your job learn to say NO. Come on you are a female right? You know the word NO! Say it! Say it! Say it!

Tell them you need personal time, you need advance notice, you need more money.

If they say no then you say no! or don't show up for the short notice extra work. Tell them you have to stick to the original promise of xx hours a week for xx RMB. anything over that cost more $$.

Come on stand up for yourself!

Jeff Shop Steward, Teamsters Local 707

Sinobear · Joined: 24 Aug 2004 Posts: 1269 Location: Purgatory

Give your boss a deadline to bring everything in line with the contract (say, six weeks). Make this deadline two weeks past your planned departure date. This way, you can see if he is making any effort to improve things (to be fair to him). If nothing is done during the month, you know that nothing will be done in the remaining two weeks, so you are good to go.

Tell no one, absolutely no one, about your plans. Pull up anchor, take only what is valuable (you can start s-l-o-w-l-y liquidating/forwarding/giving away those things you don't wish to leave behind now) and off you go. He cannot do anything once you're gone.

Good luck!

tarajane · Joined: 30 May 2005 Posts: 16

Hello,

Well today I had a very nice (haha yeah right) meetig with my boss where he dismissed my concerns about my ineffectual teaching assistant, told me SURPRISE SURPRISE that the new co-corker is not arriving as I was told, and I am a liar (he accused me of using my lesson plans for the lessons in my co-worker's classes that I am teaching, and continued to do so even after I produced thorough lesson plans for all of the lesson I have taught in the past 5 months).

Chaaaaaarming! (you have to imagine me saying this in a deep Southern belle accent...only slightly distorted (maybe more than slightly) by my Aussie drawl)

So I have decided to leave.

Is my business visa linked to the job? ie will it still be valid after I leave the job.

Thanks
Tara

jeffinflorida · Posted: Wed Mar 22, 2006 12:35 pm Post subject:

a Chinese boss lie to you? Welll I never!!!!!

This could be a first.

At least did he lie to you with that big empty smile on his face?

tarajane · Joined: 30 May 2005 Posts: 16

yeah...a smile that is ever so slightly toothy, never reaches the eyes (i guess that is the big give-away) and, i just realised, kinda makes my boss look like he needs to up his daily dosage of fibre and prunes!

Nyrthak · Joined: 20 Mar 2006 Posts: 16 Location: ASIA

Hello,
I have been teaching in China for about 6 months now. I can empathise with the concerns raised. I had to battle the management of the Kindergarten to get the residents permit I needed and FTC. They told me when I arrived everything was legal, but when I asked to see Foreign Teacher Licence, I stirred up a hornets nest. This was followed by the management yelling and screaming at me, verbally threatening me, and telling me to sign a contract for 1 years illegal work or I have to leave right away! I refused to bend (although truth be known, I was very frightened), and they were forced to make everything legal. I often think of leaving, even now, because they continue to have all these problems paying me....like 'the accountant didnt arrive at the school" (for my wage)and "we will pay you your airfare on the last day of contract".
For my own dignity, I will see the contract through.
I have learnt a lot about human nature. Especially how ugly greed and deception is. I figure, if nothing else, this job is teaching me how to have dignity in myself and rise above the lies and poor treatment....and I have gained a whole pile of wisedom!!

For the record, I wanted to do a runner, and nearly did......

Good luck!!

tarajane · Joined: 30 May 2005 Posts: 16

tarajane · Joined: 30 May 2005 Posts: 16

Nyrthak · Joined: 20 Mar 2006 Posts: 16 Location: ASIA

Yip, I agree with you..if things are not legal I would leave. I have only a few months reamining and I intend never again to get myself into this position, or so easily trust others. I can smell corruption a mile off now.
Don't worry..I have had my times of fuming anger, and my teaching went down hill at that time, but when I decided to stay I have had to get over that. My choice to stay. I do my best for the children and try and be a positive influence (needless to say the children cop some from school as well).

If you are not legally employed and have no hope of becoming soon, and your boss lies to you.. leaving is really the only option...the other people are right..dont tell a soul..I had a day off work once and my school sent someone round to see if I had gone to the police!! If you are going to go just go ..FAST..and leave the country. My school dobbed a previous FT in to the police for not finishing his contract (even though he was illegally teaching) and they tell me he cannot leave the country...(is this true?? who knows!).

tarajane · Joined: 30 May 2005 Posts: 16

Yeah, that is what I am most worried about - that the school will be able to do something to me.

jeffinflorida · Posted: Wed Mar 22, 2006 11:29 pm Post subject:

They can't really do anything to you...