Job Discussion Forums

LW Teacher · Joined: 27 Apr 2009 Posts: 4

Hello:

Does anyone have experience in filing complaints against a school with the Foreign Experts' Bureau (FEB)? What is the process, the ins and outs? Am I wasting my time trying to bring contract violations to light?

Thanks for your help!

Raindrops · Joined: 18 May 2009 Posts: 142 Location: PRC

Depending if you are living or not in one of the big 3 .... contacting in person the PSB is usually the most effective way to do it.

foreignDevil · Joined: 23 Jun 2003 Posts: 580

And to give some real info to the OP: a lot of this will depend on where you are. You really want to file a complaint with SAFEA? My only experience, through people I know (both foreigners and Chinese working for a language school) is bringing complaints to the city labor bureau. This was in Zhuhai, and it was extremely successful.

Apologies if that was not exactly what you were looking for... but just wanted to put it out there.

I think you will have to specify where you are?

China.Pete · Joined: 27 Apr 2006 Posts: 547

"Am I wasting my time trying to bring contract violations to light?" -- LW

If there are violations of the letter or your SAFEA contract (for example, it says they will pay you �4,500 at the end of each month but have only paid you half that, or it is paid late, etc.), then your local foreign expert office may indeed be helpful in assuring contract compliance (see http://middlekingdomlife.com/guide/safea.htm for the one near you!). They will probably not be able to help you with any other non-contractual issues you may have, so don't waste your breath, or your credibility. Also, you should be aware that your school will be under no obligation to renew your contract, and are unlikely to do so if you make them look bad to "outsiders." So, if you intend to proceed with this, you'd best start looking for a new job, possibly in another province, right away.

China.Pete · Joined: 27 Apr 2006 Posts: 547

Response to a subsequently deleted post (see below)...

Mr. Kalgukshi · Posted: Mon May 25, 2009 11:04 am Post subject:

I've just issued a final warning for targeting the messenger and not the message. Some inappropriate postings were also deleted. Please discuss the topic and avoid personal attacks.

Hansen · Joined: 13 Oct 2008 Posts: 737 Location: central China

A few years ago, I contacted the FEB. When the issue was not resolved, I called again and the officer said, "That's your problem." "Really? And why would I continue working here if that's the case?" I asked.

The matter was resolved in a few days. Not sure what happened but the situation at the school continued to deteriorate.

Since things are done here based on relationships, going over someone's head to resolve a matter is viewed as a very desperate act. You might try it, if you don't care about the job. I did. It was effective.

Getting things done here on the basis of guanxi which is really the default currency, is difficult. Simple racism prevents most people from being willing to help. Any one who goes against another Chinese on behalf of a laowai is doing a lot of damage to themselves.

It's understandable. Most of us leave after a while. In government schools, the people may be working together for the next decade or two or three. Why make enemies for someone just passing through?

kev7161 · Joined: 06 Feb 2004 Posts: 5880 Location: Suzhou, China

evaforsure · Joined: 26 Jun 2004 Posts: 1217

I don�t find the Chinese to have tis kind of solidarity ..mre like a pack of sharks .. Which will turn on their own if one is wounded...

the trick is to attach the chum to one of em....

Robin53 · Joined: 24 Oct 2008 Posts: 74 Location: New Zealand

I filed a FEB complaint and got 100% backing. The college didn't pay me for 2 months and didn't pay the summer holiday travel money of 1100 Yuan. Sometimes they would be late with salary payments for all teachers before this happened - it wasn't a big deal and the salary would arrive a week or two late.

My situation was different though. I asked several times and was told later, later, later. Then the summer holidays came and the accountants office was closed. I networked and found the name of someone in the Education Bureau who spoke English. He called the school Principal and instructed him to pay me immediately according to my contract conditions. A week later he called again and asked if I had been paid. When I said no, he hit the roof. The next day a delegation from his office visited the school, and I was immediately paid by the school. The school had its license to have a FT removed, and I was invited to "punish" the school with the US$2,500 fine mentioned in the SAFEA contract which most FTs have. I didn't want to fine them though, and was happy with getting my salary, and airfare paid. He also told me to resign and offered to help me find a new job with recommendations for other schools in the city who needed FT's.

I didn't like having to this as I was happy at that college, however all it took was the courage to make one phone call to get full satisfaction. Instead of complaining at length but actually doing nothing as many FT's seem to do, when negotiations to fix up a situation with your school have failed, do as I did and take the option you are legally entitled to in this country.

LW Teacher · Joined: 27 Apr 2009 Posts: 4

Thank you all for your replies.

If I do make any complaint it would be during the final week of my contract. I don't want to be out on the street without my airfare bonus. I, and most of the other FTs, are not being offered additional contracts.

If the FEB is ineffective as one commenter said, which department of the PSB is the correct one to contact?

Thanks for your help.

The Ever-changing Cleric · Joined: 19 Feb 2009 Posts: 1523

LW Teacher · Joined: 27 Apr 2009 Posts: 4

Robin53 · Joined: 24 Oct 2008 Posts: 74 Location: New Zealand

Cleric - yes you are right, I should have gone ahead and claimed the $2,500 fine. I could certainly do with the extra 20K RMB in my bank account right now. At the time though, I was a bit shell-shocked by the swiftness of the FEB's response, and the fact that they immediately "punished" the school by taking away their license to have a FT permanently. I thought getting paid up was good enough at the time as well as assistance from the FEB into a new job in the city.

I was happy at the school as I had a good relationship with the head of faculty, and the students gave me good teacher assessments. I had also worked with the school a year before to re-write the contract into something beneficial to me and them. Its always hard to leave somewhere where you are more or less happily settled in.

As for the late salary payment, all of the teachers, and I was the only FT there, were used to the salary being often a few weeks late. I gather this is something normal in Chinese state schools. However this time it was different and the salary was just too late and my reminders about our SAFEA contract agreement were being ignored.

I've posted this reply as an example of how the FEB will support FT's if they have a genuine grievance. I followed what it said in the SAFEA contract about referring it to the FEB if negotiations with the school fail. I hope others in the same situation will do what I did. Despite all the suspicion and complaints from FTs, there is justice in this country.