Just last month at Berlitz in South Korea, the teachers there formed a union which has been recognized by the national federation of unions in South Korea.
Unions for Western workers in Japan have been around for about 10 years. And, of course, there is a branch union at Berlitz in Japan which is one of the oldest and biggest.
They are branch union of the National Union of General Workers. nambufwc.org
There are many buxibans, universities and school boards where migrant EFL teachers have unionized in Japan.
In Japan this all from the help of “community unions” where Japanese unions have decided to take on non-Japanese labour concerns to improve working standards for all.
[quote=“paddon”]
I hope Taiwan gets there some day.[/quote]
I hope it doesnt. Unions are a pain that easily play the political game for a few on the cost of many… English teachers are rich here, rich people dont need unions.
If your idea of a EFL etachers union is that of something you encounter in Western countries, you would be sorely mistaken.
EFL teacher unions are probably better described as mutual aid societies.
As for the comment about teachers being rich. That certainly wasn’t my experience. Further, mutual aid societies are more about health and welfare issues rather than wages.
For example, what prompted the South Korean to be formed was the “disrequest system” of Berlitz where a student requested not to have a teacher because he/she was BLACK!
In Japan, teachers have huge problem of being left out of the national medical care scheme (unlike in Taiwan). Virtually none of the 17,000 teachers with work visas are enrolled in the mandatory national health care. So a government investigation was launched into the entire private English language teaching industry in Japan. That wasn’t about wages, that was about health.
I know some NT millionaire teachers!
We definately don’t need unions, thank you! Unions are for the poor, dis-enfranchised masses. While most of us were members of this group in another life, we certainly are not anymore. We get by on the bribes our schools pay government officials.
One has to love Taiwan if only for this reason! :bravo:
IIRC, one of the reasons the unions first got involved in Japan is that in 1995 (when I was there working at NOVA) there was a case of a foreign teacher at NOVA being arrested for drug dealing. (This was in July, right before the prime summer enrolment/student recruiting season). The story I heard was that one of the local newspaper’s owners had it in for the NOVA owner and used this publicity to hammer NOVA with. It was a huge story, all over the Japanese media.
NOVA tried to deflect this extremely bad publicity by saying they would require every foreign teacher to take a urine test for drugs, whereupon 1/3 of their staff quit overnight, and another 1/3 joined a union. There was then a big stink about teachers then being required to sign an agreement to be tested for drugs or be immediately fired (which also broke the Labour laws). It was discovered that NOVA was also cheating their teachers by not giving them the mandatory (as required by Japanese Labour Law) three weeks paid holiday.
AFAIK, NOVA never did do the urine testing. They did go back to giving the 3 weeks holiday.
Since then the Japanese unions have been watching the various English schools. The unions here by contrast are fairly toothless, and probably wouldn’t want to deal with foreigners anyway. Also since a large number of schools work on the theory that teachers are expendable and if they fire one another will be along to take their place, I don’t see the schools immediately changing their attitudes.
The main problem is that unions like that can be effective in places like Japan where there is rule of law. Taiwan, outside of central Taipei, is a functional anarchy.* “Illegal” practices in the buxiban industry are the norm - nearly every teacher and school violates the letter of the law in some way, in some ways big, in some ways small. Just for example, I’d say that most foreign teachers are required to shuttle back and forth between different branches of the same school - which, believe it or not, is technically illegal. The government changes its mind on whether teaching in kindergartens is legal or illegal almost every other month. Not to go into the major violations such as people here working without degrees, tax dodging by schools, etc. In such an unregulated industry, the environment for unions is…problematic.
*This is something that a lot of you people on this Taipei-centric forum just don’t get. Living and working in the rest of Taiwan is totally different country. The rule of law has not taken hold and doesn’t seem to be welcomed by most Taiwanese.
I wouldn’t consider being an “NT millionaire” something to brag about, especially for anyone who’s been teaching for a while.
I agree that English teachers get a decent salary, but I would disagree that English teachers are "rich. I could make more money per month doing manual labour in Canada, although taxes and living expenses are much higher. We can live a nice lifestyle in Taiwan, but unless you start your own school that is successful, it’s pretty hard to get rich.
I’m being paid by the Ministry of Education to teach illegally right now. I’ve also worked illegally at state high schools. I pay my taxes, I have an ARC, I have an easy life. No-one fucks with me. And, unlike many of you, I don’t use any illegal drugs.
Tell me again what the benefit of being in a union is. What will a union do that a less formal organization (like forumosa) can’t? Divert my not-so-hard-earned cash to help some idiot who couldn’t be bothered to try and stay semi-legal or take the advice that’s available for free here? Create ‘union rules’ that no-one will follow and that are not necessary? Provide cover for total incompetents? Make Taiwan even more cushy than it already is, attracting yet more chancers?
There’s too much ‘us and them’ in the union concept. A lot of teachers are wankers. Some bosses are problematical. Some teachers are good enough at what they do that they gravitate towards the better jobs, and they can do that without being ‘superior’. Basic competence and a minimal work ethic is all that’s required. The others deserve each other.
And 2-3 times the average local wage is a good income. If it’s not rich enough for you then go somewhere else or work harder.
[quote=“TaiwanSaffies”]Unions are for the poor, dis-enfranchised masses. [/quote]
That is certainly not true in the United States. Almost all licensed teachers are union members, and the unions provide very attractive service packages for quite modest membership fees.
I wouldn’t consider being an “NT millionaire” something to brag about, especially for anyone who’s been teaching for a while.
I agree that English teachers get a decent salary, but I would disagree that English teachers are "rich. I could make more money per month doing manual labour in Canada, although taxes and living expenses are much higher. We can live a nice lifestyle in Taiwan, but unless you start your own school that is successful, it’s pretty hard to get rich.[/quote]
Let me put what I said in perspective (rather than “brag”):
If you’re from say, South Africa… caucasian, young, newly-graduated-from-high-school, un-qualified for anything other than say drink copious amounts of alcohol, smoke pot occasionally and inbetween “teach” impressionable kids of (even more) impressionable Taiwanese parents English, even though your primary language is not English and you just happen to be a citizen of a country deemed to be a “Native English Speaking Country”… believe me you’re RICH! :raspberry:
Oh… and, lest I forget: If you could “make more money per month doing manual labor in Canada” you should’ve stayed there, Mate!
For us Saffies, we’d rather be NT millionaires than do manual labor in Souf Efrika! Even the local average salary of NT$60 000 equates to R11 614.59 (South African, according to Bloomberg.com) which is barely the salary of a qualified teacher with 5-10 years experience!
So there!
PS.
FYI, other than the “qualified teacher with 5-10 years experience” and “copious amounts of alcohol” parts… none of the above fits my description.
Well, the National Union of General Workers took up the Nova urine sampling case because there was support from Japanese union members. If there had been none, then this would not have happened. It is in the interests of Japanese workers as well, that businesses in Japan do not start such testing. The union won the case, by the way.
As for rule of law in Japan, it is just as tenuous as in Taiwan. For example, almost all 17,000 teachers on work visas in Japan are not enrolled in the mandatory government health care scheme (shakai hoken). However, in Taiwan, most teachers are enrolled or at least are informed that they can be enrolled.
Small language schools in Japan cheat foreign workers just as in Taiwan. Mom and Pop shops usually are not even aware that labour laws apply to “foreigners.” In Taiwan, you are quite fortunate that some CLA labour investigators on the west side of the island speak English. I only know of one Labour Standards Office investigator in Japan who speaks English. And he won’t even talk on the phone. He will only take faxes.
Developing trust with the Taiwanese Trade Union Federation might take years. But the issues that face Berlitz teachers in Japan and South Korea (e.g., the disrequest system) also face Berlitz teachers in Taiwan.
With a collective bargaining agreement, Berlitz can no longer change a teachers hours, where he teachers or other working conditions without having to go through the union first. This is a huge advantage for teachers.
I myself used to be sent illegally by Gloabl Village out to their Fengyuan branch from Taichung every Sunday. This is an example of a work condition violation that a union could address.
[quote]With a collective bargaining agreement, Berlitz can no longer change a teachers hours, where he teachers or other working conditions without having to go through the union first. This is a huge advantage for teachers.
I myself used to be sent illegally by Gloabl Village out to their Fengyuan branch from Taichung every Sunday. This is an example of a work condition violation that a union could address.[/quote]
Or you could just explain to your emloyer that they’re being unreasonable and explain that you will have to find another job if they can’t fix this. And then quit if they try to strong-arm you. Plenty of decent jobs out there, leave the crap to the ones that will be grateful for it.
