If Tony is off the case, why is he still answering housecat’s questions? 
Because the labor board is seriously incompetent and/or doesn’t care? Just guessin’…Tony’s used to cases involving Filipina factory workers. Never done any white-collar stuff before. He said as much at the first meeting.
My Taiwanese friend also suggested a letter to Mayor Chen, FWIW.
Of course, you can also separately report the school to the tax authorities if they have not in fact paid your taxes in on time. Depending on their guanxi, that could get them into some hot water. Or, probably better, if they start getting snarky, you could simply mention that tax payments are an issue. I doubt that a school of that size wouldn’t be paying in, but then again…
They likely have two sets of books, like most places. The teachers there this year who were there last year said that they NEVER received anything last year, and never had any money held from their salaries. So the school is very secretive about their tax reporting/paying, I guess, but it seems to me that this is an issue that should be pretty straight forward.
[quote=“ironlady”]Because the labor board is seriously incompetent and/or doesn’t care? Just guessin’…Tony’s used to cases involving Filipina factory workers. Never done any white-collar stuff before. He said as much at the first meeting.
My Taiwanese friend also suggested a letter to Mayor Chen, FWIW.
Of course, you can also separately report the school to the tax authorities if they have not in fact paid your taxes in on time. Depending on their guanxi, that could get them into some hot water. Or, probably better, if they start getting snarky, you could simply mention that tax payments are an issue. I doubt that a school of that size wouldn’t be paying in, but then again…[/quote]
Schools are getting really clued up about the tax thing now. Word is getting around that foreigners will take revenge in this area. Some schools insist a teacher pays tax even for just a few hours “subbing”.
Let’s see, Article 26: “An employer shall not make advance deduction of wages as penalty for breach of contract or as indemnity.”
Not paying sick days, not paying wages for the day and a half I worked in November before I was sick–to cover the costs of uniform pants for my son that I had taken home, but had not even been told the price of (shouldn’t be more than NT$300 per pair–quite a steap mark-up at a day and a half’s wages). This carries a fine of, “A sum less than 30,000 yuan.”
Article 80: “Any person who refuses, avoids or obstructs a labor inspector in the performance of his (or her) official duties shall be punished by an administrative fine of not less than 10,000 yuan but not exceeding 50,000 yuan.”
Holding a meeting to instruct other teachers on “talking points” to any members of the labor board who might come and ask questions?
Article 74: "A worker may, upon discovery of any violation by the business entity of the Act and other labor statutes and administrative regulations, file a complaint of the employer, the competent authorities of the inspection agencies.
An employer may not discharge, transfer or take any unfavorable measure against the worker who files a complaint according to the preceding paragraph."
I hadn’t filed the complaint yet, but I was fired for asking questions of the labor board. That’s at least the SPIRIT of this article, right?
And Article 81: “If the representative of a legal entity, the agent of a legal entity or a natural person, an employee or any other staff member violates the ACT in the rendering of his respective services, the violator shall be punished pursuant to this Chapter; in addition, the legal entity itself or the natural person shall also be subject to punishment by such fine or administrative fine as prescribed in the respective Articles of the Act; unless the representative of the legal entity or the natural person has done his best to avoid the occurrence of the violation.
The representative of a legal entity or natural person shall be deemed as offender, if the representative instigates or encourages the violation.”
So Tony could be held culpable, too?
But really, the fines seem hardly much of a deterrent. It’s much cheaper to risk breaking the rules and getting caught than to do the right thing in the first place.
housecat:
Good luck with all this. It is commendable that you and other expats are pressing your case.
Sorry to be stereotypical about all this but:
Of couse Tony is going to side with the Taiwanese company over a western female.
After pushing the issue, you have received the hospitality that Taiwan is famed for.
Guan Hsi will not allow the school to lose face and have to pay loads of money in reparations. Good luck in even getting an apology.
Taiwan is a small island, and news travels fast. After you are done with all this, get far away from Kaohsuing and find yourself a better job.
I hope your results will turn out much better than I expect.
[quote=“zaowangyeh”]housecat:
Good luck with all this. It is commendable that you and other expats are pressing your case.
Sorry to be stereotypical about all this but:
Of couse Tony is going to side with the Taiwanese company over a western female.
After pushing the issue, you have received the hospitality that Taiwan is famed for.
Guan Hsi will not allow the school to lose face and have to pay loads of money in reparations. Good luck in even getting an apology.
Taiwan is a small island, and news travels fast. After you are done with all this, get far away from Kaohsuing and find yourself a better job.
I hope your results will turn out much better than I expect.[/quote]
ZaoWangYeh, I thank you for your thoughts. You have only two posts so far on this site and I have no reason to think that you mean other than to be friendly, so I’m going to take this as friendly advice . . . because otherwise, this could sound more than a little like a threat . . . .
No reason to take it as one. I am sorry you think this way, and I in fact hesitated in posting my thoughts due to misinterpretation. I almost feel awkward that you point out that I have only 2 posts, but I was with Formousa at its beginning under a different alias. After moving back to my country I stopped posting, and every now and again I get “home-sick” for Taiwan. I decided to browse this evening due to this longing and came across your thread (is that the right term?). I explain myself so you realize that there is no reason for you to feel threatened, and now I digress. I will attempt to remove my previous post so you do not feel discomforted.
[quote=“zaowangyeh”]housecat:
Good luck with all this. It is commendable that you and other expats are pressing your case.
Sorry to be stereotypical about all this but:
Of couse Tony is going to side with the Taiwanese company over a western female.
After pushing the issue, you have received the hospitality that Taiwan is famed for.
Guan Hsi will not allow the school to lose face and have to pay loads of money in reparations. Good luck in even getting an apology.
Taiwan is a small island, and news travels fast. After you are done with all this, get far away from Kaohsuing and find yourself a better job.
I hope your results will turn out much better than I expect.[/quote]
The advice sounds jaded and based on commonly held assumptions and beliefs. Things aren’t as bad as this post would suggest. I remember when I was having some difficulty, I started worrying about the whole guanxi thing – “oh, maybe they’re connected gangsta gangstas” etc. A local friend told me, “台灣沒那麼可怕” Taiwan isn’t such a scary place. It isn’t THAT bad.
HC is going to a simple arbitration hearing. She’ll either get some concessions or she won’t.
And about news travelling etc. PLEASE. Nobody is going to care. I went to arbitration against a school once and went to work for the school down the street.
I hope it all works out that way Toasty!!!
[quote=“Toasty”]
And about news travelling etc. PLEASE. Nobody is going to care. I went to arbitration against a school once and went to work for the school down the street.[/quote]
So, so true, toasty. There is this massive expat myth that schools somehow have blacklists or get together to stitch up ‘problem’ teachers. It’s complete bs. They are all independent businesses trying to maximise profit and they couldn’t give a toss. If they need a new teacher, they’ll hire one with no interest whatsoever about whether the teacher fell out with another school or not.
A mate of mine has fallen out with several schools in my area, and he still walks into new jobs no questions asked.
tomthorne: Of course, it’s a double-edge sword. It means their expectations and treatment of workers are likely to be low.
Absolutely, they couldn’t care less about their employees. However, my point is that there isn’t some sinister cabal of buxiban owners sharing information about this teacher or that teacher. They don’t even ask for references, for God’s sake! Totally incompetent recruitment procedures, but advantageous if a teacher happens to have had a bad experience with one of them.
As you know, GIT, I used to be a competitor with the schools around me and they’re still desperate to have me working for them. It’s just business.
tomthorne: That must provide for a rather peculiar feeling.
Did you ever get the feeling that you had a real uphill battle competing with them because you simply weren’t dodgy?
[quote=“GuyInTaiwan”]tomthorne: That must provide for a rather peculiar feeling.
Did you ever get the feeling that you had a real uphill battle competing with them because you simply weren’t dodgy?[/quote]
All water under the bridge, now. It’s just business, but the cards were never in my favour.
Good luck, Housecat. Don’t get married to a hand, though, as they say in poker.
[quote=“housecat”]But really, the fines seem hardly much of a deterrent. It’s much cheaper to risk breaking the rules and getting caught than to do the right thing in the first place.[/quote]Worry about getting your money and don’t worry about fines. More importantly, you should worry about keeping this out of court. Mentioning possible fines will only aggravate your adversaries.
After meeting their lawyer, you will have a better idea of what you are up against. The lawyer will most likely present evidence to show that you were not wrongfully dismissed. Ultimately, the school needs to prove that you deserved to be fired.
You will have to stay calm even if the lawyer’s claims are false. Be mentally prepared to have your integrity questioned, if not soiled, and hope that none of your adversaries’ claims relate to criminal justice.
If at any point during the meeting you feel threatened, tell them that you wish to consult with a lawyer before continuing the procedure. Avoid signing documents unless you know exactly what they implicate. If you feel insecure or forced to sign something, tell them you will not sign anything before consulting with a lawyer.
Good luck!
[quote=“RobinTaiwan”][quote=“housecat”]But really, the fines seem hardly much of a deterrent. It’s much cheaper to risk breaking the rules and getting caught than to do the right thing in the first place.[/quote]Worry about getting your money and don’t worry about fines. More importantly, you should worry about keeping this out of court. Mentioning possible fines will only aggravate your adversaries.
After meeting their lawyer, you will have a better idea of what you are up against. The lawyer will most likely present evidence to show that you were not wrongfully dismissed. Ultimately, the school needs to prove that you deserved to be fired.
You will have to stay calm even if the lawyer’s claims are false. Be mentally prepared to have your integrity questioned, if not soiled, and hope that none of your adversaries’ claims relate to criminal justice.
If at any point during the meeting you feel threatened, tell them that you wish to consult with a lawyer before continuing the procedure. Avoid signing documents unless you know exactly what they implicate. If you feel insecure or forced to sign something, tell them you will not sign anything before consulting with a lawyer.
Good luck![/quote]
Thanks for the good advice. I don’t plan to bring up fines, I just thought that they were rather meager.
Yes, I’m either going to be called everything but a child of God, or the guy will just walk in and say that the school will not cooperate with this and will have to be taken to court–and the contract does call for going to court rather than this process.
Don’t forget to mention where the school held your child and would not let you have him back until you were coerced into signing the document you signed. 
Ahhhh my teacher at school today asked why AIT hasn’t been contacted yet?
I told her that AIT don’t get involved in these kind of disputes and she said that was ridiculous, as long as you are an American citizen than AIT will provide help. I’m not sure what kind of help though…
Anybody know what AIT can do?
[quote=“tsukinodeynatsu”]Ahhhh my teacher at school today asked why AIT hasn’t been contacted yet?
I told her that AIT don’t get involved in these kind of disputes and she said that was ridiculous, as long as you are an American citizen than AIT will provide help. I’m not sure what kind of help though…
Anybody know what AIT can do?[/quote]
I really don’t think that they could do anything at all, but I could call up in the morning and find out. They were very, very helpful to me in the past about very different matters, but I think all they will say about this is that they could give me a list of lawyers or legal aid.