| View previous topic :: View next topic |
| Author |
Message |
Real Reality
Joined: 10 Jan 2003
Location: Seoul
|
 Posted: Tue Mar 04, 2008 3:56 pm Post subject: Foreigners Complain About Contract |
 |
|
Foreigners Complain About Contract
By John Redmond, The Korea Times (March 4, 2008)
http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/special/2008/03/177_20073.html
| Quote: |
..."I'm still owed my severance pay from a job from over two years ago," grumbled a New Zealand English instructor who wished to remain anonymous.
He explained that he was unfairly dismissed one month before his contract was due to expire, thus leaving him ineligible for severance pay and a return airfare.
Not wanting to back down, he took the employer to court through the Korean Labor Board, and won. The ruling was in his favor, however, to this date he hasn't received a penny of his entitlement. He also found he'd been placed on a black list.
Another case.... his employer insisted he work Saturdays as part of his regular workload, even though his contract stated otherwise. When questioning his employer he noticed that the contract had been rewritten after he had signed it.... |
|
|
| Back to top |
|
 |
Boodleheimer
Joined: 10 Mar 2006
Location: working undercover for the Man
|
| Posted: Tue Mar 04, 2008 4:44 pm Post subject: |
|
|
i'm guessing a copy editor changed the title. it should have been called 'foreigners get shafted by asshole employers'
Last edited by Boodleheimer on Tue Mar 04, 2008 4:44 pm; edited 1 time in total |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
KYC
Joined: 11 May 2006
|
| Posted: Tue Mar 04, 2008 4:44 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Foreigners complain....
I don't like the sound of that. Makes it sound like they're a bunch of whiners about something insignificant.
Also...
| Quote: |
| Admittedly, these examples highlight some of the negative experiences of a small proportion of foreigners here, |
small proportion is a slight exaggeration. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Tjames426
Joined: 06 Aug 2006
|
| Posted: Tue Mar 04, 2008 4:54 pm Post subject: |
|
|
A contract to a Korean is the basis of a relationship, it is not an agreement written in stone.
Every potential foreigner living in Korea needs to know this before they arrive. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
laogaiguk
Joined: 06 Dec 2005
Location: somewhere in Korea
|
| Posted: Tue Mar 04, 2008 6:16 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| Tjames426 wrote: |
A contract to a Korean is the basis of a relationship, it is not an agreement written in stone.
Every potential foreigner living in Korea needs to know this before they arrive. |
Very true. Though Korea will have to realize someday that just won't work. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
some waygug-in
Joined: 25 Jan 2003
|
| Posted: Tue Mar 04, 2008 6:23 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| Tjames426 wrote: |
A contract to a Korean is the basis of a relationship, it is not an agreement written in stone.
Every potential foreigner living in Korea needs to know this before they arrive. |
If this were really true, why is it that whenever Korean employers want us to do something they refer to the contract, but whenever we want something from them they say the contract is "not written in stone"?
This is an old line of BS used to take advantage of newbies. If Koreans really want to improve their relationships with foreign teachers, they are going to have to stop trying these tired old tactics. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
CentralCali
Joined: 17 May 2007
|
| Posted: Tue Mar 04, 2008 6:29 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| Tjames426 wrote: |
A contract to a Korean is the basis of a relationship, it is not an agreement written in stone.
Every potential foreigner living in Korea needs to know this before they arrive. |
Nice theory. Too bad that's not the way it works for the Labor Board (toothless) and the courts (who actually have enforcement authority). The contract is not suggestions. Those provisions of the contract which do not conflict with law are binding. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Adventurer
Joined: 28 Jan 2006
|
| Posted: Tue Mar 04, 2008 7:10 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| Tjames426 wrote: |
A contract to a Korean is the basis of a relationship, it is not an agreement written in stone.
Every potential foreigner living in Korea needs to know this before they arrive. |
That is probably one reason Seoul is not listed as one of the top 50 financial centers, because business people and foreigners do not trust the business and working relationship they would have Koreans. If all the European Union, North America, South America, the Middle East, and Japan and other Asian countries understand a contract is your verbal agreement then Koreans should be no different if they want to deal with the rest of the world. I don't these people, and I am not going to fly thousands of miles for a verbal agreement. Every potential employer should know it is normal to honor a contract. They were created for a reason, and it was not just have nice ink on paper. As far as that guy not getting his money even after a year, that doesn't happen all the time, but it is ridiculous that the government will have some judges who will let a court case like that drag on and on. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Dome Vans
Guest
|
| Posted: Tue Mar 04, 2008 7:31 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| some waygug-in wrote: |
| Tjames426 wrote: |
A contract to a Korean is the basis of a relationship, it is not an agreement written in stone.
Every potential foreigner living in Korea needs to know this before they arrive. |
If this were really true, why is it that whenever Korean employers want us to do something they refer to the contract, but whenever we want something from them they say the contract is "not written in stone"?
This is an old line of BS used to take advantage of newbies. If Koreans really want to improve their relationships with foreign teachers, they are going to have to stop trying these tired old tactics. |
Keep in mind that some contracts state that the Korean written contract is the legal one. Sometimes if this is written, then the actual English writing is not a true correct translation and technically means nothing when it comes to disputes. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
PRagic
Joined: 24 Feb 2006
|
| Posted: Tue Mar 04, 2008 9:02 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Yeah, I remember a couple of stories that came out of SNU. Mind you, this is the premier educational institution in Korea.
Labor Board Visit One: A departing teacher challenged SNUs interpretation of severance pay calculation. Seems the university paid a salary and a separate 'research fee'. For some time, SNU had paid severance based on this separation of wages. They lost, and had to pay. The entire system for English teacher compensation has been rerigged there to avoid this.
Labor Board Visit Two: Another departing teacher challenged SNUs policy pertaining to overtime wage contribution to severance calculations. SNU had conveniently not included overtime wages in the severance calculations. They lost. Overtime was immediately restricted, and contracted contact hours were increased (without negotiation). Teachers from the regular English program were restricted from working overtime at the Foreign Language Institute, as this work contributed to severance calculations (same university, same employer).
In short, even the best of the best educational institutions in Korea was guilty of violations concerning the country's employment of foreign English teachers. If a university that pumps out the county's policy makers, lawyers, and educators can't get it right, what possible hope is there in the short term?
Ask anyone who has been here 5-15 years, and you'll hear story after story of university employers who 1) have no clue as to the rights of their foreign staff, and 2) have made drastic changes to their programs to the detriment of their long-term foreign staff.
Yonsei
Korea
SNU
Konkuk
These are the big names, but I'm sure there are stories about confusion and chaos at many other places. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
PRagic
Joined: 24 Feb 2006
|
| Posted: Tue Mar 04, 2008 9:04 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| Why are the words 'SHORT' and 'LONG' filtered out? |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
CentralCali
Joined: 17 May 2007
|
| Posted: Tue Mar 04, 2008 9:13 pm Post subject: |
|
|
A mod mentioned in another thread the problems they're having with the swearing filter.
Don't for a minute believe the bosses are unaware of their obligations under the law. They know and they just don't care. It's part of the "I'm the boss, what I say is what is" syndrome. Korean workers put up with it and the bosses are shocked and amazed when foreign workers raise a stink. They're even more shocked when a Korean worker does! I've seen it happen and wished I could've stayed around for the full argument in front of the Labor Board. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
philipjames
Joined: 03 Feb 2003
|
| Posted: Wed Mar 05, 2008 12:13 am Post subject: |
|
|
These problems are experienced "by a small proportion of foreigners." Give me a fu4king break. I have yet to meet anyone who has taught in Korea for more than one year who has not been shafted by their hogwan. I swear that hogwan owner associations must have seminars on how to abuse and exploit their foreign teachers, and they have a great old time sharing stories.
A small proportion of foreigners.  |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Bingo
Joined: 22 Jun 2006
|
| Posted: Wed Mar 05, 2008 12:20 am Post subject: |
|
|
| I've worked for several hogwans over the years and they were all owned by snakes. Could it be that I've just been unlucky, and that most hogwan owners are stand-up guys? I agree, the 'small minority of teachers feel ill-treated' by their employer line is a bit rich. How about 98% of foreign teachers have had their contracts violated in some way or another by their employers. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Summer Wine
Joined: 20 Mar 2005
Location: Next to a River
|
| Posted: Wed Mar 05, 2008 12:51 am Post subject: |
|
|
| Quote: |
If this were really true, why is it that whenever Korean employers want us to do something they refer to the contract, but whenever we want something from them they say the contract is "not written in stone"?
This is an old line of BS used to take advantage of newbies. If Koreans really want to improve their relationships with foreign teachers, they are going to have to stop trying these tired old tactics. |
Yes, they also seem to ignore what is in a contract when it seems that they must pay you money. I have always found that when you get near the end of a contract and they must settle tickets, and other money that you get the "its not in the contract or we don't have to follow it".
I am dealing with that matter right now and it surprises me that they can say it with a straight face. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
FAQ
Search
Memberlist
Usergroups
Register
Profile
Log in to check your private messages
Log in
