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Teachers band together in South Korea
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garykasparov



Joined: 27 May 2007

PostPosted: Wed Jun 25, 2008 10:44 pm    Post subject: Teachers band together in South Korea Reply with quote

http://www.guardianweekly.co.uk/?page=editorial&id=620&catID=18
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Grab the Chickens Levi



Joined: 29 Apr 2008
Location: Ilsan

PostPosted: Wed Jun 25, 2008 11:21 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The arsehole Hakwan directors still awnt to keep the English teacher down I see...

Quote:
Atek must also overcome opposition from some of the schools that employ many of its would-be members. The Korea Association of Foreign Language Academies (Kafla), which represents the owners of �hagwons�, or privately owned language schools, has stated it would oppose hiring teachers who are members of Atek and will try to prevent Atek�s incorporation.


Tangun forbidd that any hakwan teacher should have access to a group that would protect their rights!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Young FRANKenstein



Joined: 02 Oct 2006
Location: Castle Frankenstein (that's FRONKensteen)

PostPosted: Thu Jun 26, 2008 3:30 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Grab the Chickens Levi wrote:
The arsehole Hakwan directors still awnt to keep the English teacher down I see...

Quote:
Atek must also overcome opposition from some of the schools that employ many of its would-be members. The Korea Association of Foreign Language Academies (Kafla), which represents the owners of �hagwons�, or privately owned language schools, has stated it would oppose hiring teachers who are members of Atek and will try to prevent Atek�s incorporation.


Tangun forbidd that any hakwan teacher should have access to a group that would protect their rights!!!!!!!!!!!!

Especially since they are being actively blocked by an association that is known for having lawyers on staff to help them "skirt" the laws and think up new ways to screw the teachers.
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Yesterday



Joined: 15 Aug 2003
Location: Land of the Morning DongChim (Kancho)

PostPosted: Thu Jun 26, 2008 3:41 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
The government has said it will accept a wider group of candidates for its "Teach and Learn in Korea" (TaLK) programme, which aims to attract foreign college students.

It has removed the requirement that candidates must be undergraduates with at least two years in study and will now accept students enrolled in a wider range of further education.


So we will have 18 + 19 year old foreigners teaching English here -

(their salary sucks though 1.5 million?)
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aka Dave



Joined: 02 May 2008
Location: Down by the river

PostPosted: Thu Jun 26, 2008 3:43 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

One of the things the Democratic Party in the U.S. has been campaigning on is the inclusion of labor protections (the right to organize, etc) in trade agreements. Obama has said publicly he believes the FTA should be renegotiated. Labor protections respecting teachers, including American teachers, should be on the table.

Email his campaign!
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jdog2050



Joined: 17 Dec 2006

PostPosted: Thu Jun 26, 2008 3:57 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

This is awesome. i see no reason not to join ATEK. What the hell could it hurt? I have to admit that I'm really being mistreated this time around in K-land, and the fact that the E-2 visa basically makes you a bond slave is being felt. There's such a thin line between a good employer and an abusive one in this country that something like ATEK was needed, like, years ago. I'm joining right now.
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nautilus



Joined: 26 Nov 2005
Location: Je jump, Tu jump, oui jump!

PostPosted: Thu Jun 26, 2008 4:42 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Kafla is basically akin to Pol Pots workers party organisation, only their stance is even more transparently exploitative.
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TexasPete



Joined: 24 May 2006
Location: Koreatown

PostPosted: Thu Jun 26, 2008 5:17 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Yesterday wrote:
Quote:
The government has said it will accept a wider group of candidates for its "Teach and Learn in Korea" (TaLK) programme, which aims to attract foreign college students.

It has removed the requirement that candidates must be undergraduates with at least two years in study and will now accept students enrolled in a wider range of further education.


So we will have 18 + 19 year old foreigners teaching English here -

(their salary sucks though 1.5 million?)


I know of one Uni which is planning to pimp out its exchange students to the tune of 900K/month for 9 hours per week to schools in the surrounding area. A pittance here, but when in Uni, that's not bad bank.
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julian_w



Joined: 08 Sep 2003
Location: Somewhere beyond Middle Peak Hotel, north of Middle Earth, and well away from the Middle of the Road

PostPosted: Thu Jun 26, 2008 7:40 am    Post subject: www.atek.or.kr Reply with quote

www.atek.or.kr
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BigMikeAbroad



Joined: 12 Jun 2008
Location: US, for now

PostPosted: Thu Jun 26, 2008 10:17 am    Post subject: This is sweet Reply with quote

Hey this is great news, I would join up. Unions or their like have times and places where they can help or hurt. Personally, it sounds like Korea is a place where they could definitly help I would be in. As for college students, lets remember they have no student loan payments and COL is usually around what 500-700 bucks? That still lets them save up a few grand. 1.5 Mil and the chance to travel, thats not a bad deal at all for a 19 yo whos wet behind the ears. WOooo.

Big MIke
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TheUrbanMyth



Joined: 28 Jan 2003
Location: Retired

PostPosted: Thu Jun 26, 2008 4:36 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

aka Dave wrote:
One of the things the Democratic Party in the U.S. has been campaigning on is the inclusion of labor protections (the right to organize, etc) in trade agreements. Obama has said publicly he believes the FTA should be renegotiated. Labor protections respecting teachers, including American teachers, should be on the table.

Email his campaign!



Keep in mind that those labor protections only apply to workers in America. America has no power to enforce labor protection in other sovereign countries such as Korea.
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Yu_Bum_suk



Joined: 25 Dec 2004

PostPosted: Thu Jun 26, 2008 7:22 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Although I have no need for such an organisation at my present job I'll still probably join on principle. What's interesting, however, is that if they meet one of their primary objectives of allowing teachers the right to transfer their visas, the organisation will be largely superfluous.

When I visit the site and go to 'Join Us' I get
Quote:
Membership is open to everyone employed as contract or "non-permanent" instructors. Please fill in the secure form below, or contact our membership coordinator: [email protected]


but I see no 'secure form below'.
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TheUrbanMyth



Joined: 28 Jan 2003
Location: Retired

PostPosted: Thu Jun 26, 2008 7:25 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Yu_Bum_suk wrote:
Although I have no need for such an organisation at my present job I'll still probably join on principle. What's interesting, however, is that if they meet one of their primary objectives of allowing teachers the right to transfer their visas, the organisation will be largely superfluous.

When I visit the site and go to 'Join Us' I get
Quote:
Membership is open to everyone employed as contract or "non-permanent" instructors. Please fill in the secure form below, or contact our membership coordinator: [email protected]


but I see no 'secure form below'.



Click on the "How to Join" link and wait a couple of minutes for the form to load.
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IncognitoHFX



Joined: 06 May 2007
Location: Yeongtong, Suwon

PostPosted: Thu Jun 26, 2008 7:30 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'm going to caution everyone here who is thinking of joining this. It sounds like the beginning of a union, and unions equal deportation. Even though it's not a union and doesn't seem to be going in that direction, it would only take a pen shake for some people in the government to disband the group and deport all the members accordingly.

They wouldn't need any reason seeing as how it has been proven time and time again that teachers in South Korea have very little by way of human rights. They know that if we were to get organized, we might be more costly and they would have to make quite a few changes to the system in order to accomodate us.

The hagwon system will not allow for this, I know this for a fact, and I bet they'd rather keep the current system while only hiring illegal teachers (or by asking the government to lower the E2 requirements) than hire union/organization backed-E2 teachers with a degree and experience.

It's a great idea and I really hope this takes off, but I won't join until I know I won't be deported for supporting the group. It's David versus Goliath on crack.
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Grab the Chickens Levi



Joined: 29 Apr 2008
Location: Ilsan

PostPosted: Thu Jun 26, 2008 8:13 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

IncognitoHFX wrote:
I'm going to caution everyone here who is thinking of joining this. It sounds like the beginning of a union, and unions equal deportation. Even though it's not a union and doesn't seem to be going in that direction, it would only take a pen shake for some people in the government to disband the group and deport all the members accordingly.

They wouldn't need any reason seeing as how it has been proven time and time again that teachers in South Korea have very little by way of human rights. They know that if we were to get organized, we might be more costly and they would have to make quite a few changes to the system in order to accomodate us.

The hagwon system will not allow for this, I know this for a fact, and I bet they'd rather keep the current system while only hiring illegal teachers (or by asking the government to lower the E2 requirements) than hire union/organization backed-E2 teachers with a degree and experience.

It's a great idea and I really hope this takes off, but I won't join until I know I won't be deported for supporting the group. It's David versus Goliath on kimchi enfused crack.
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