Job Discussion Forums

[T_Lanc]

A friend of mine is currently in the process of lodging a complaint against Wancheng International Education Center, with the Foreign Affairs Office of Chongqing.

My friend has quite a number of grievances with his former employer but the main items are:-

1 Failing to repay work-related traveling expenses

2 Failing to pay airfare allowance of 1000 RMB per month

3 Deducting an unbelievably expensive electricity bill from his final pay

Of course, there are 2 sides to every story and both sides have posted details of their respective claims and counter-claims are the following website:-

http://p082.ezboard.com/fteachingenglishinchinafrm49.showMessage?topicID=67.topic

I'm posting this message here because I think the more we foreign teachers learn about these situations, the better prepared we will be if it ever happens to us.

[T_Lanc]

Here's part of an e-mail that my friend just received today from a former colleague, who is still working at Wancheng (which he refers to as WEIC, i.e. Wancheng International Education Center):-

Hey XXXXX,

What's going on? Just wanted to update you on the current round of attempted screwing by WIEC.

Well, I got my airfare late, and before I received it, Simon sent me an email saying that it would only include airfare through May. Obviously I hit the roof! I went through XXXXXX and got that sorted out, but when
I received my payment WIEC had deducted about 500RMB for meals at Luxian and non-existent repairs to the apartment there.

Again, I went ballistic, and basically told them that if they didn't pay me the full reimbursement within 7 days I was going to leave. Simon got ahold of me three days later telling me that there was nothing that he could do. I calmly said, "Okay," and informed him that we would be out of the apartment in three days. Simon thought I was overreacting...GET REAL!

I had already lined up several better paying jobs, but having to travel again was not to my liking, though I had something set up relatively close in Changsha. Well, that night XXXXX wines and dines me, basically
begging me to stay. (And I have nothing bad to say about XXXXX; he's a straight shooter, I think.) I met with him Thursday morning and this is what he proposed ........

So it seems that it's not just my friend that has had (is having) a bad experience with Wancheng International Education Center.

Incidentally, there are 2 other complaints against Wancheng on Nate's China School Review.