Job Discussion Forums

[islandman]

Why has everyone's salary gone up in East Asia relative to inflation and growth besides foreign teachers? Why haven't the teachers formed a decent union in Asia? Could it possibly hurt?

[Magoo]

Where do you teach, and for how long have you been teaching? The world of ESL is full of blow-throughs; people are here (wherever that may be) for a variety of reasons. There is very little cohesion, hence, no practical solidarity. I might sy-empathise with your plight, but what can I do if you are in a different country with different laws/cultural attitudes etc. Even within one country, what would be the chance of a 'foreign' trade union? It would probably be untenable even in Britain, where labour/race relations laws are quite specific. Asia? The Chinese (and, from my experience and from what I've read, the Japanese and Koreans) are not too careful about hiding their antipathy towards outsiders. Why should they give a toss about some big nose whinging about fair pay? Plenty more where you came from (now more than ever).
To be more specific: Chinese law varies from province to province, county to county, town to town, police station to police station, and person to person, the last depending on your connections. As many of the China posters know, the real negotiations begin AFTER your contract has been signed. If the school breaks the law, but has better connections than you, tough.
The best way to attain a higher salary is to approach it Asian style. Walk away (figuratively speaking), come back and restart negotiations. We are a low productivity workforce, after all. There is no obvious economic output from our efforts (i.e. industrial production), so how many governments would support us? Teachers the world over are badly paid, relative to their experience and qualifications.
Just fight the good fight and appreciate that it's probably better where you are in Asia than back at home.

[Sinobear]

Well said, Magoo!

[Norman Bethune]

[Roger]

A FT uniuon in China - haha! No hope, no chance! Illegal, unthinkable!
When I came to China hardly any FT was staying longer than one year; contracts were designed to replace every FT with another one once their contract time was up. Few were retained for a second term. There was a policy of actively discouraging FTs from staying too long with the same employer.
Of course, this NEIBU rule has been massively relaxed; but someone tell me why we never get visas for more than one year at any time?
In other professions, 3-year visas are not uncommon!