Job Discussion Forums

[patsy]

I communicated with a school for almost half a year, Hunan Women's College in Changsha. They promised me an apartment with air conditioning, cable tv, and internet. When I arrived at the airport, they said, "very sorry, we have no apartment, you'll have to share with a Russian Art teacher". They said this was only temporary, and after one month would give me an apartment, well, the one month is up, now it's gone to two months, to "we're not sure, that's the school's responsibility.

my roommate doesn't speak much english and no chinese. They waited until I arrived in the airport, to tell me the "bad news". They had known for months before. WATCH out for this school. Very polite , but very untruthful.

[7969]

[Steppenwolf]

There is very little you can do against your employer; the one handle I feel you have is this: you have a legal job, so your contract says where you are being housed and your resident's permit should support your legal address (approved by the P.S.B.).
If that address is at variance with your real address you may have some bargaining ground - but not a position of strength.
You might be able to wring a concession out of them for your putting up with their shenanigans.n

But don't put too much hope on it! And don't lecture them on your rights - that would most definitely backfire.

I wouldn't want to be in your situation either. Good luck to you!

[tw]

Definitely complain, nag, threaten, whine, and b1tch until your face turns blue. Pay the FAO a daily visit and I think after a week you'll be housed in your own apartment.

[WordUp]

start looking for another job.. then.. once you've got it.. haggle with your present job folks until they give you ten times what their original offer was.. Stick with the new job of course.. but enjoy the satisfaction of having made them lose their face, then rubbed it in their own doopy..

Take it to the point where they actually rent a new place and pay the one year lease.. then leave them in the lurch..

[kev7161]

I agree with TW - - did you happen to save all those emails where you were "promised" (don't you love that word in China?) certain accomodations. Print those off if you can and bring them in with you. Whine, b*tch, threaten (make sure you can back up your threats, however) until you get what you were promised. If no results, well, schools will be hiring again around the end of December/beginning of January. Can you put up with your current situation for another 3-4 months?

[HunanForeignGuy]

Dear OP,

I surely empathize with you completely. Last year I had the job from h*ll near ChangSha. The apartments were wretched with lice-infested mattresses, leaky roofs, broken toilets, falling plaster, etc. There were always interminable arguments about being paid on time...and hours of hours of free "voluntary" make-work. So I changed for what I thought was a better job.

Just like you, when I arrived, it was all bait-and-switch. Sorry, you can't have the apartment we showed you and promised you (in writing). Sorry, you won't have the classes we told you would have..Sorry, but sometimes we will pay you late, ad infinitum. Friday, I gave these people the statutory-I-am-leaving-at-the-end-of-the-term notice. With no talking. Oh yeah, I forget the email from the leader, who responding on a totally unrelated subject, managed to tell me how much the management hated the United States.

TW, Kevin, cj750, they are all correct. Don't take it. Don't sit for it. Raise as much hell as possible...but leave for sure because if they have done this, they will other things even worse. That's been my experience of four years here. And no, you can still get another job in China EVEN now. And even in ChangSha.

Please, please send me a PM. I know of another university in ChangSha with wonderful housing that is desperately looking for a teacher now. And then there is New Times International. They are great for helping people out in these kind of situations.

As for the Russian (sto-to kacaetca vashu rucckuyiu madamshu), just leave it.

Go forward, go on and quickly get another job.

All the best.

HFG

[danswayne]

Worked for your school before, and am in Changsha now. PM me with phone number and I can personally backup what HFG is saying.

[2 over lee]

'Foreigner accommodations' sounds horrible; 'accommodation for foreigners'-Chinglish and American English are much more closely related than Chinglish and the language of the Queen.