Some Important Questions for Uni Folks

Hey fellow uni teachers,

I need your help with a few things. My school seems to be getting worse every semester, with our insanely low pay and split schedules with no days off. They're now trying to slash our pay for extra kids' classes yet again, and we've had enough.

What I need from you is some basic info about your own jobs so I can show the bosses here how exactly we're getting hosed when compared to jobs at similiar schools.

So please reply with the following:

1. The name of your school

2. The basic starting pay, plus housing allowance, for an ESL teacher.

3. Your school's visa requirements (F2, E1, E2, F4?)

3. Schedules: Please send me a schedule sample if you can. You can a email it to me ([email protected])

4. What is your going rate for EXTRA KIDS classes at your coninuing learning center? What is your going rate for any other INSTITUTE type of classes?

5. End of contract bonus? Yes or no.

Thanks in advance for your help on this. We have arguably the worst deal in town and I'm at least shame them into admitting it.

Cheers,

CT

 
 

Re: Some Important Questions for Uni Folks

"End of contract bonus" do you mean severance pay? National unis give it, private don't, it's something to do with the pension system. Everything you mention is arbitrary and dependant on the individual workplace. While I think it's a good idea to sort out a basic deal for uni jobs, that seems to be the job of an industrial union: to create an award rate. Second, my school doesn't have visa requirements, doesn't have any kids classes, and the schedule is up to the pettiness of the coordinator.

I think there are too many differences betwen different uni deals and using other unis' situations as a bargaining chip won't be that effective. If someone came to me and told me that workers at another company were getting a better deal, I would tell them to bugger off and work at that company. It's interesting when people with BAs who manage to get a uni job start to get an inflated opinion of themselves and start demanding days off. If you had a regular job back home would you start demanding Thursdays off?

Re: Some Important Questions for Uni Folks

Yeah, I mean severance pay.  And some private unis DO get it (Dong-eui, Dong-seo)....  And of course I should have expected hostile, snarky responses when all I am doing is simply trying to gather a bit of data so I can see if indeed my deal is worse than others, and if we can see what is the exception, rather than the rule.

As for a day off, I hear you and have thought the same thought, but if every practically every other school offers it, than it could be considered industry standard.  If we're getting a much shoddier deal than everyone else for less pay, than our employer will hear about it.  Your "bugger off and work at that company" attitude is condescending and just straight lame, but considering the usual tone of most your posts, I'd expect nothing less.

Re: Some Important Questions for Uni Folks

Private unis only have to give severance if they are in the national pension scheme. If they're part of a private fund they don't.

Why don't you list the info you want for your situation? Your asking others to do it. Why don't you share?

I'm sorry if you don't like my tone or lameness. However, there are many foreigners here who are ready to take a low paying uni job over their institute. Most uni workers are easily replaceable as many unis just require a BA, white face and a pulse. So I'm not sure why the uni would give in to any demands when they can just fire their teachers and hire someone else: which has been done before. The deals at many unis are poor because people will often accept any deal to hold on to their precious uni position. If you don't sign your contract there's a lot of others who will.

Re: Some Important Questions for Uni Folks

Unfortunatly, Uni or not, really does not matter. As a former employer I would have not taken into account my workers complaints about other places of employment and comperable conditions.

Unless the employee was very valued.

Before you kick the hornets nest, make sure you are in a bargaining position.

Sad but true. Wages have for the most part not gone up in years... to many people looking for transient work here, not making a career.

If you really want to move up. Learn Korean.

Also asking people to out their Uni's conditions is quite bad form on an open forum...