Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Pusanpoe]

Unions in Korea are already so looked down upon just check the polls newspapers etc. With the high unemployment here, do you think there will be much support by authorities for this, especially for foreigners who are hardly the down trodden lot of cheap factory workers with little education and future. And more importantly, the average period of working in Korea is about one year for native speaker EFL ers. So the group that stays is a very small one that will not form a sufficient base or commitment. Most of the Korean employers expect regular native speakers for the most part to go back home and integrate into the main workforce there and seek their just rewards and upward mobility. That turnover which a fair number of employers encourage puts a damper on a labour knowledge base being built up. In the meantime Use eFL law and other tools instead.

[Bulsajo]

[bjonothan]

Someone put in a message before that there were no unions for teachers in Korea. I was talking with a Korean teacher from my school and found out that it was not the case. When I mentioned the idea of a foreigner version she just laughed. It would be good if something could be set up but I don't think it would be possible in Korea. Here is a country where until a year ago sticking fingers in your teacher's ass was a normality. Hawking in front of the public is normal, among other things which are too numerous to mention I don't think that Korea is ready for something like this. I would love to see better conditions, but as long as I live in Korea I think I have to accept that things will change slowly and not to my liking. The bottom line: If I don't like it and it pisses me off I will go home......

[TECO]

Our peers in Japan seem to be way ahead of us in this department.

Think about it people, they have less headaches with employers than Korean instructors beacasuse they do have the right to organize.

For instance, check this out: http://berlitz.generalunion.org/

[crito03]

A union is not an ideal option for English teachers, however an association would be a better route, serving more interest. Bargaining rights and the like would not be best done collectively but if english teachers agree to stand in solidarity over certain issues then standards would improve and we would have more control over our contracts .

I am definetly willing to take the time to set one up if there is interest. I guess what I am saying is if people are interested then please pm me and let me know. Sadly it would only be as powerful as the amount of members it represents so really it s all about if people are interested.