Job Discussion Forums

Jetgirly · Joined: 17 Jul 2004 Posts: 741

I just received my contract for the new school year and am SHOCKED to find that it is exactly the same as my contract for the last year... the same amount of money. I have not signed the contract and have talked to some of the other teachers, and apparently my school just never increases anyone's salary. I am currently making the same amount of money as people who have B.Eds and have worked with the school for fifteen years. The amount of money paid for travel time has not increased in ten years (when you make the conversion from lire to euros). Apparently the only incentive offered to experienced teachers is better hours, closer to the school.

I feel like I am in a difficult place because in the past eight months I have taught the school's entire curriculum, designed courses for individual students who want to work on specific skills like negotiating and making presentations, I have made worksheets that are used by all the teachers, and in months when I don't work very much (but still receive my salary) I have been marking placement tests and typing final reports. I resent getting paid the same amount as a new, unqualified teacher (I have a BA and CELTA), and I suspect the senior teachers resent receiving the same pay as me.

It seems to me that the problem has been compounded by the fact that these very senior teachers have allowed themselves to go without pay raises for the last ten years... how can I ask for more money if they are satisfied with �11 per hour? I am planning to leave the school in March because I have been accepted into a B.Ed program back in Canada (I have deferred my acceptance), but I want to make my last seven or eight months with the school worthwhile. At the very least I want a cost of living increase, as Italy has major inflation and my city has the highest inflation in the country.

I have already tried to talk to administration about the amount of pay for travel time and they won't budge, claiming that "the companies decide the amount, not us" (right, and every company mysteriously, independently settled on �4.13 per "transfer"... a magical unit of measurement with no basis in time or distance). I would love to hear any ideas or suggestions you have about how to approach this subject with administration.

Chris_Crossley

It is a hideously frustrating situation, I know, but, since you have stated that you are going to enter a B.Ed. program in Canada in March next year, I would, if I were you, simply bite the bullet because you'll be leaving in just six months and are therefore not going to stay there for another academic or calendar (12-month) year.

From my perspective, it would be better if you just chalked this down to experience. Private language schools are not public sector ones, and so these people can pay you slave wages while they get rich off your back. It's a fact of corporate life, I'm afraid. Think of those senior teachers you mentioned: they must really be unbelievably ticked off, not to mention possibly demotivated, by the fact that they are getting paid the same as you right now. They must feel trapped within their situation, but you don't need to feel this way.

There is a light at the end of the tunnel, so I would suggest you do the six months, add that experience to your resume, and look forward to doing your B.Ed. so that, at the end of that, you can, I assume, receive some kind of teaching certification (for B.C.?) and get a job, where your initial pay will, one hopes, reflect your previous teaching experience.

ls650 · Joined: 10 May 2003 Posts: 3484 Location: British Columbia

When it comes to private language schools in North America (and most other places) the employer has all the cards. Why should they pay you more money, when they can hire a replacement that they consider "good enough"?

If you were willing to work overseas, I'd say tell 'em to screw off and go find another school. However, as Chris points out, it might be better for you to sit tight while you save to go back to school... but keep your eyes open for other jobs too!

shenyanggerry · Joined: 02 Nov 2003 Posts: 619 Location: Canada

Jetgirly, �11 per hour is a terrible rate. I suppose you can't do better at this stage. Why don't you find a union organizer and invite him/her to have a chat with you and your colleagues. There's a very good reason why unionized employees make a good buck. They've collectively stood up and been counted. You've seen how helpless you are on your own, try standing together.

basiltherat · Joined: 04 Oct 2003 Posts: 952

Jetgirly · Joined: 17 Jul 2004 Posts: 741

A few of us had been interested in unionizing but we don't really understand the legal side... the school keeps us all on temporary contracts (imagine working ten years with no benefits!) and I suspect that would make us ineligible for unionization. I am not sure how or why the school is able to do this, but I think it has something to do with the fact that the school is closed in August. Italy is a crap place for employees... I have heard of people completing a university degree, working for a company for x months and then being fired, only to have the company ask them to return as an "apprentice" at �600 per month, other companies are known to hire employees, then fire them annually on December 31st and re-hire them on January 2nd so that they don't have to ever give them permanent contracts with benefits (which you are entitled to after three years of continuous employment). I can't wait to go back to Canada!

expatben · Posted: Sun Sep 11, 2005 4:28 pm Post subject:

Interested in unionizing? So are these people

www.efltu.org

I am a member and would reccomend it for all language teachers

Stephen Jones · Joined: 21 Feb 2003 Posts: 4124

Go to your local teachers union. You will probably find that there is a teachers union for each political party; shop around and choose the one that takes most interest in your case.

It is almost certain that they are screwing you blind, so join the union and get their legal advice.

shenyanggerry · Joined: 02 Nov 2003 Posts: 619 Location: Canada

Jetgirly, You said

Teacher in Rome · Joined: 09 Jul 2003 Posts: 1286

Jetgirly · Joined: 17 Jul 2004 Posts: 741

Everyone at my school is on a "project contract"... I guess the school year is the project. My school is BUSY... we have about sixteen teachers and we are constantly looking for more, and some of our company contracts add up to more than 100 classroom hours per week each. There is no danger of them having to lay off anyone and the work isn't running dry... they're just cheap!