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Doglover
Joined: 14 Dec 2004
Posts: 305
Location: Kansai
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 Posted: Tue Mar 28, 2006 9:25 am Post subject: |
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| Keith_Alan_W wrote: |
As far as retribution for unethical business practices on the part of private schools is concerned, has anyone got any advice for me?
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Keith, unethical business practices are not illegal, unfortunately. you would be suing every school in Kansai if that was the case. |
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Keith_Alan_W
Joined: 26 Mar 2006
Posts: 121
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| Posted: Tue Mar 28, 2006 2:29 pm Post subject: |
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People out there probably think I'm an American with all this talk of suing, but I'm not, I'm just frustrated, that's all. As far as suing goes, a friend of mine sued Inlingua in Dresden and won, so I was wondering if it was possible here.
I am serious about the idea of posting Anti GES notices on public notice boards though. How would the Japanese react to this? I know that the practice of "writing in big letters" works quite well in China (e.g.. Mao's protest posters against the communist party and capitalist roaders like Deng xiao Peng, did get the cultural revolution rolling after all). I'm just wondering how to get back at this school. Situations like this aren't covered in intercultural manuals, so I really need some advice on this. Since I don't have a job or anyone to talk to at the moment, it's something to fill up my thoughts and give me energy.
Am I just dreaming? Are foreign English teachers really so powerless here? Since teachers outnumber employers at at least 10 to 1, there must be something that can be done.
Has anyone out there ever even tried, or are we a bunch of jellyfish???? |
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Keith_Alan_W
Joined: 26 Mar 2006
Posts: 121
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| Posted: Tue Mar 28, 2006 2:41 pm Post subject: |
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| Doglover wrote: |
Keith, unethical business practices are not illegal, unfortunately. you would be suing every school in Kansai if that was the case. |
So are you saying, I'm out of luck as far as Japan is concerned? In that case, is there anywhere in the world where English teachers are treated right?
Should I start a new career just so I'm not taken advantage of on a repeated basis? I feel like I must have a big kick me sign on my back. |
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shuize
Joined: 04 Sep 2004
Posts: 1270
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| Posted: Wed Mar 29, 2006 12:52 am Post subject: |
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| Keith_Alan_W wrote: |
| Am I just dreaming? Are foreign English teachers really so powerless here? Since teachers outnumber employers at at least 10 to 1, there must be something that can be done. |
There is: Get a contract and get it in writing.
As explained above, without a work visa you are not protected. Suppose you do get to court, what are you going
to tell the judge?
Keith: GES promised me a job and an apartment and then fired me for no reason.
Judge: Is that true?
GES: No.
Judge: Well, Keith, what does your contract say?
Keith: ?
Judge: OK, what does your work visa say?
Keith: ? |
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PAULH
Joined: 28 Jan 2003
Posts: 4672
Location: Western Japan
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| Posted: Wed Mar 29, 2006 3:03 am Post subject: |
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| Keith_Alan_W wrote: |
| Doglover wrote: |
Keith, unethical business practices are not illegal, unfortunately. you would be suing every school in Kansai if that was the case. |
So are you saying, I'm out of luck as far as Japan is concerned? In that case, is there anywhere in the world where English teachers are treated right?
Should I start a new career just so I'm not taken advantage of on a repeated basis? I feel like I must have a big kick me sign on my back. |
Keith
throw a stone at any language school in Japan, including GEOS AEON and NOVA and you are going to find some area where they are breaking the law in the contract. I realise you are "just off the boat" in Japan and are not familiar with the customs or labor laws here. This is not Germany, US or Canada. western laws and morals do not apply here.
I spend a great deal of time telling people what their legal rights are and if they have a problem to contact a union or the labor office. they cough and sputter when told they have to join the union and pay fees first, or blame the union because it makes them pay for expensive health insurance. You can not cherry pick which rules you choose to observe and those you ignore. Take the good with the bad. the only reason you have many of the perks that teachers enjoy today is because the union got them for you in the first place. Paid holidays, unemployment insurance. health insurance. Set work hours.
Thousands on thousands of teachers come here every year. Something like 60,000 people have been through the JET program and many more through NOVA which has been around probably longer than you have been born.
Yes there are exploitative companies that rip off naive and gullible foreigners. those companies are also required to obey Japanese labor laws, if only people had the cojones to stand up for their personal rights, rather than become morally indignant and threaten to torch the place when they dont get their way. that is not how battles are fought here. I know of one woman who has taken on her university single-handedly and faced down the defendants lawyers. She along with others will probably win, too. If you have a problem you hire a lawyer, join a union and fight the company on equal terms, not act as a spoiled brat that gets his toys taken away. Yes the school ripped you off, but its only because you let them, by not doing your homework and being prepared. Shoot first, ask questions later.
You came here illegally on a tourist visa and were working in violation of the laws here and are pissed that your employer took you to the cleaners. Are you going to join a union and fight for your rights or are you just going to make a nuisance of yourself by protesting and handing out flyers? Do you think students will be turned away becuase of your protest? Think again. More likely the police will arrest you for creating a public disturbance. You need permssion in this country before you can demonstrate. |
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stillnosheep
Joined: 01 Mar 2004
Posts: 2068
Location: eslcafe
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| Posted: Wed Mar 29, 2006 6:31 pm Post subject: |
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| Keith_Alan_W wrote: |
My next step.....
There doesn't seem to be any jobs left here in Japan, or they require I travel to different cities for interviews (something I can't afford). So I think I'll file a complaint and go back to Germany. |
If you cann afford to fly homke to Germany you can afford to train/bus/hitch to a new post. There are plenty of jobs, just not plenty of great ones. Many smaller schools interview over the phone. Post youe CV on the appropriate section of the big ESL bulletin boards (possibly www.gaijinpot.com have such a section as well) and start contacting all schools an dcompanies that advertise on them. Some will have vacancies.
Get a job and join the appropriate regional union staright away so that you have proper back-up in th eevent of any future problems.
It may be worth contacting the General Union in Osaka starightaway. They may be prepared to help you now if you join once you have secured a position and an income. They have helped teachers left in the lurch by employers in the past. |
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stillnosheep
Joined: 01 Mar 2004
Posts: 2068
Location: eslcafe
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| Posted: Wed Mar 29, 2006 6:34 pm Post subject: |
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| Keith_Alan_W wrote: |
My next step.....
There doesn't seem to be any jobs left here in Japan, or they require I travel to different cities for interviews (something I can't afford). So I think I'll file a complaint and go back to Germany. |
If you can afford to fly back to Germany you can afford to train/bus/hitch to a new post. There are plenty of jobs, just not plenty of great ones. Many smaller schools interview over the phone, at their cost.
Post your CV on the appropriate section of the big ESL bulletin boards (and www.gaijinpot.com if they have the facility) and start contacting all the schools and companies that advertise on them. Some will have vacancies.
Get a job and join the appropriate regional union straight away so that you have proper back-up in the event of any future problems.
It may be worth contacting the General Union in Osaka straightaway. They may be prepared to help you now if you join once you have secured a position and an income. They have helped teachers left in the lurch by employers in the past, although promises to join are not always followed through with. |
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Keith_Alan_W
Joined: 26 Mar 2006
Posts: 121
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| Posted: Thu Mar 30, 2006 2:51 am Post subject: |
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| Just to let you guys know, I have posted my resume in the appropriate places, i.e. gaiginpot etc., and I have been in contact with many schools this past week. My major problem is that since I'm now in Japan, the schools want me to be already in possession of a working visa. It's a curve ball I didn't expect. While in Germany, I thought it would be easier to find a job if I was already over here, but I received a lot more responses to my applications when I was still in Germany. Also, I have taken the plunge and started traveling around the country to go to interviews, but is an expense that I didn't budget for. |
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PAULH
Joined: 28 Jan 2003
Posts: 4672
Location: Western Japan
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| Posted: Thu Mar 30, 2006 3:47 am Post subject: |
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| Keith_Alan_W wrote: |
| Just to let you guys know, I have posted my resume in the appropriate places, i.e. gaiginpot etc., and I have been in contact with many schools this past week. My major problem is that since I'm now in Japan, the schools want me to be already in possession of a working visa. It's a curve ball I didn't expect. While in Germany, I thought it would be easier to find a job if I was already over here, but I received a lot more responses to my applications when I was still in Germany. Also, I have taken the plunge and started traveling around the country to go to interviews, but is an expense that I didn't budget for. |
It sounds like they dont want to sponsor you for full time work or will hire you part time, with someone else sponsoring your visa.
You can easily change a tourist visa to a work visa if you can get sponsorship. I really dont see what difference being in Germany makes, if its the same companies who wont sponsor your visa.
Applications are no good unless they translate into actual job offers and sponsorship, and most will want to meet you first, than hire you by email. |
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shuize
Joined: 04 Sep 2004
Posts: 1270
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| Posted: Thu Mar 30, 2006 5:36 am Post subject: |
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Correct me if I'm wrong, but if you do get someone to sponsor you, aren't you going to have to leave the country anyway? I'm on a spousal visa so I don't follow these things very closely, but I thought one could not switch from a tourist visa to a work visa from within the country. If so, that might explain why some of the companies you've spoken with aren't real excited about sponsoring you now that you're already here without a work visa. If true, it also means you still might have to budget for another round trip ticket.
Last edited by shuize on Thu Mar 30, 2006 5:44 am; edited 1 time in total |
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PAULH
Joined: 28 Jan 2003
Posts: 4672
Location: Western Japan
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| Posted: Thu Mar 30, 2006 5:43 am Post subject: |
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| shuize wrote: |
| Correct me if I'm wrong, but if you do get someone to sponsor you, aren't you going to have to leave the country anyway? I'm on a spousal visa, so I don't follow these things very closely, but I thought one could not switch from a tourist visa to a work visa from within the country. If so, that might explain why some of the companies you've spoken with aren't real excited about sponsoring you now that you're already here without a work visa. If true, it also means you still might have to budget for another round trip ticket. |
Sometimes immigration lets you change to a work visa without leaving the country. If he does have to go though it will mean a couple of nights in Korea as well as plane fare and hotel bills. |
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Keith_Alan_W
Joined: 26 Mar 2006
Posts: 121
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| Posted: Fri Mar 31, 2006 4:28 am Post subject: |
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I have an interview with one of the big chain schools in Osaka on Tuesday. Maybe that will be successful. In coming here I didn't want to work for big companies, but now I have no choice. I have also been talking to a school in Yokohama that is owned and run by a guy from Canada (which sounds a lot better than some weird Japanese woman who can speak English one day and not the next!). The school has no arranged accommodation, which means I'll need to find my own place. This requires that I get a Japanese co-signer, and buy things like a stove, bed, and fridge. This company has also never sponsored a teacher's visa before, so they don't know how the system works and said they'd get back to me in a couple days. Other than that, I don't have much on the table.
Most of the schools have decided against hiring me because I'm in the country without a working visa. It might even be the case that I have to leave the country and go to Seoul S. Korea for 48 hours before the government will issue me a working visa! It is all very complicated to figure out.
One person says that it's no problem to get a work visa, the next says it's impossible. One person says it's easy to rent a flat, the next says it's extremely complicated. One person says that I should tell companies I'm applying to about what happened at GES and that the Japanese will feel sorry for me and give me a job, the next says I shouldn't mention it. I am told to get a stamp in my visa to look for work. I ask companies about this and they've never heard of such a thing....... and it goes on and on that way. My ex-girlfriend who lived here for 4 years says I shouldn't talk about looking for work at all until I have the right visa because if a Japanese hears me they will report me to the authorities. So after being here looking for work and researching for almost a week, I'm as confused as ever. |
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JimDunlop2
Joined: 31 Jan 2003
Posts: 2286
Location: Japan
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| Posted: Fri Mar 31, 2006 4:46 am Post subject: |
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I can't say that I can unconfuse you, but I will try. 
| Keith_Alan_W wrote: |
| One person says that it's no problem to get a work visa, the next says it's impossible. |
Very few things in Japan are impossible. That's the "zen" like nature of this beast. Everything is difficult but it's easy. Everything is impossible but it's not... Anyway, switching from a tourist visa to a work visa is not rocket science if you have a) a university degree and b) a workplace willing to sponsor you. Being in posession of those two things, it's fairly straightforward. Outside of those, it's really a case-by-case basis.
| Keith_Alan_W wrote: |
One person says it's easy to rent a flat, the next says it's extremely complicated. |
Last year I wrote an extensive article on renting an apartment. If you like, PM me and I'll send you the link -- or if you do a search on Dave's you should be able to find it that way as well. There are certain specific hurdles involved, but IF you have a good school/employer, even if they won't supply you with a place, they should at least be willing and capable of HELPING YOU do so... If not, something is amiss.
| Keith_Alan_W wrote: |
One person says that I should tell companies I'm applying to about what happened at GES and that the Japanese will feel sorry for me and give me a job, the next says I shouldn't mention it.
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Don't lie if asked, but don't make it the focus of your job search either. And if/when it does come up, just say that the company that agreed to hire you ran into unforeseen financial difficulties and had to pull out at the last minute... Which is true as far as I understand your case.
| Keith_Alan_W wrote: |
I am told to get a stamp in my visa to look for work. I ask companies about this and they've never heard of such a thing.......
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Neither have I. IF a company hires you, and they start the visa-application process on your behalf, they will first obtain a "certificate of eligibility" which is essentially a piece of paper that says you are eligible to get a visa. With this in hand, you will go to immigration, fill in a work-visa application form, and wait. WHILE you wait, immigration will stamp your passport basically to say that your visa is being processed. While it's being processes, you can go ahead and start working... But not before.
| Keith_Alan_W wrote: |
| My ex-girlfriend who lived here for 4 years says I shouldn't talk about looking for work at all until I have the right visa because if a Japanese hears me they will report me to the authorities. |
Nope. At least not like that. As your average Japanese doesn't know (or care) what your current visa status is, no one's going to be reporting you to anyone anywhere. 3 years ago, the Japanese government put out a "rat-on-a-foreigner" website for Japanese people to report visa violators to them so they could get deported, but I wouldn't be worried about that. As long as you don't end up at a police station telling the cops that you are looking for work without a visa, your chances of being deported for looking for a job on a tourist visa are just shy of 0%.
If you have any questions, just ask. The more specific the better. Anyway, in the mean time, I hope that what I wrote helps. |
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JimDunlop2
Joined: 31 Jan 2003
Posts: 2286
Location: Japan
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| Posted: Fri Mar 31, 2006 4:49 am Post subject: |
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| shuize wrote: |
| Correct me if I'm wrong, but if you do get someone to sponsor you, aren't you going to have to leave the country anyway? I'm on a spousal visa so I don't follow these things very closely, but I thought one could not switch from a tourist visa to a work visa from within the country. If so, that might explain why some of the companies you've spoken with aren't real excited about sponsoring you now that you're already here without a work visa. If true, it also means you still might have to budget for another round trip ticket. |
You can now. You didn't used to, but for the large part paperwork can be processed while you are in-country.... There are odd exceptions to this rule, but they are individual cases -- not the norm. |
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Keith_Alan_W
Joined: 26 Mar 2006
Posts: 121
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| Posted: Sat Apr 01, 2006 3:34 am Post subject: |
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Hi all.
Thanks for the help.
I checked out some good websites on visas here in Japan and it is a sure thing that I can change the status of my visa without leaving the country. In fact, I can actualy do it without having a job first, but it wouldyake a longer time and there is a greater chance of me being denied. |
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