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| Would you be willing to join a foreign teachers union? |
| Yes, definately |
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32% |
[ 12 ] |
| Yes, but with reservations |
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18% |
[ 7 ] |
| Maybe |
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18% |
[ 7 ] |
| No, I don't think so |
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13% |
[ 5 ] |
| No, definately not |
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16% |
[ 6 ] |
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| Total Votes : 37 |
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| Author |
Message |
Captain Corea
Joined: 28 Feb 2005
Location: Seoul
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 Posted: Tue May 17, 2005 4:36 pm Post subject: |
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I worked in too many unionized shops and KNOW how the workers act once unionized. Far too many abuse the situation.
I would not join a union here.
The ideas about changing the legislation are great. How to get that accomplished in this day and age is the question though. |
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FUBAR
Joined: 21 Oct 2003
Location: The Y.C.
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| Posted: Tue May 17, 2005 4:40 pm Post subject: |
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| Homer wrote: |
Any proposed changes to immigration would have to include better screening methods to weed out illegal teachers coming over with fake credentials.
Would this union push for this as well? I wonder....
The basic idea of a union is not a bad one. Such a union might do some good. Then again it might become one more ineffective organization.
Who would run this union?
Who would fund it?
What would the joining criteria be?
Any dues to pay? |
Job promotion?
Seniority?
Bumping rights?
Binding Arbitration?
I really don't see how a union would be effective in Korea. For a Union to work ALL the teachers must be willing to support the union otherwise it's useless.
I could see a College/University teachers association/union being more successful than a general union. The main reason being that those people have much more incentive to fight for their rights since they will be here longer than the average hogwan person. |
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mindmetoo
Joined: 02 Feb 2004
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| Posted: Tue May 17, 2005 9:53 pm Post subject: |
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| Ya-ta Boy wrote: |
| Quote: |
| A much more sensible campaign would be to try to get Korea to change its work visa laws to more closely mirror those in Japan |
Please suggest a way to achieve this goal. |
In the same way those Bangladesh foreign workers are trying to get the laws changed. They form an association. They lobby. They protest. |
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FUBAR
Joined: 21 Oct 2003
Location: The Y.C.
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| Posted: Tue May 17, 2005 10:18 pm Post subject: |
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| mindmetoo wrote: |
| Ya-ta Boy wrote: |
| Quote: |
| A much more sensible campaign would be to try to get Korea to change its work visa laws to more closely mirror those in Japan |
Please suggest a way to achieve this goal. |
In the same way those Bangladesh foreign workers are trying to get the laws changed. They form an association. They lobby. They protest. |
http://english.yna.co.kr/Engnews/20050516/410200000020050516173946E1.html
| Quote: |
SEOUL, May 16 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's Justice Ministry said Monday it would deport the head of an unauthorized union of migrant laborers.
Nd Anwar Hossin of Bangladesh was arrested over the weekend for overstaying his working visa.
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Seems that the government is doing its best to quiet them before they even get started. |
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chronicpride
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
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| Posted: Tue May 17, 2005 11:07 pm Post subject: |
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Looking at the poll results, 14 say 'yes', 11 say 'no', and 6 say 'maybe'. And the idea was also shot down by key, influential industry folk who have a better track record of getting off their asses and doing something about what they feel strongly about, at the ESL conference, last weekend, which 95% of the people here didn't bother to go to, but would prefer to beak off about unionizing from their local PC bang with their bag of chips. There's your answer, re: broad interest and unflinching solidarity.
/saves this thread in My Favorites, so I can reference it in the next token union thread that starts in another 2 months or so. Someone wake me up if I sleep through and miss the next time this subject surfaces again. |
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redbird
Joined: 07 Mar 2005
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| Posted: Thu May 19, 2005 11:24 am Post subject: |
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| mindmetoo wrote: |
Unions are good in many ways but they're there for people who want to work at one job for life, like a factory or public school. "I'll give you my life. You give me a good wage and a safe work environment."
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That's a common misperception. Fact is that some trade union members, like construction workers, move from employer to employer far more often than English teachers.
I agree that if foreign teachers usually saw their work as a lifetime endeavor in one country, it would be easier to bring a union into being. That there are so many small employers in this field also makes it more difficult. But it's likely that chains and franchising will become the norm as Koreans' outlook toward English instruction matures.
Unions function in a variety of ways depending on the needs of the industry. It could be that a trade association with a large membership is really what should happen now. The Korean system prefers that groups have leaders who speak for the group.
But the perception that union members spend a lifetime working for one employer is due to unions' success. Before the auto workers were unionized, turnover was greater than you see in hagwons. Because unionization led to much better pay, benefits and working conditions, employees stayed in those jobs longer than they had before. |
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