Its always the same: You wait too long and then
your ARC starts to expire. You've passed already on
all the major chain schools because you don't want to be part of that! Time's running out! So, desperate, you jump at the first
floozy school that struts by and offers you a work permit. And
now…you are in HELL! Probably can't believe the conditions you
are working under. They use a photocopier to print their own
books which no-BAH-DEE could learn from. You don't get paid for
telephone teaching. They ask you to come in for parent's day
unpaid. You can't leave after you've punched in, even just to go
to 7-11, and if you punch in one minute late, you lose a full
day's pay. But, hey…they've got three month's worth of your
salary, so you can't leave now. Working here can be a well-paid
breeze if you follow a few simple guidelines. So, here's what
you need to know about signing your next contract.
First, start at least six weeks before this contract is up and
go to three schools that look good. You've got no pressure-and
they know you've got no pressure; tell them that you are looking
at other schools. Romance 'em. Walk around the place. Say hi to
the kids, play paper-scissors-stone with all the kids you bump
into, and lose.
Then, another day, give them your best demo. After the demo,
tell them you love the place. Yes! You'll sign. This is great,
this is wonderful! They bring out the pens and are psyched…yes
we've filled that position. Now they're sold and so its time to
get down to the business end of this deal. Read the contract and
start asking for the things you want.
Protect your pay: First, wherever you find outside
responsibilities mentioned, parents' days, sports day, etc.
smilingly insist, on writing in a dollar per hour figure. Just
keep asking them, "Well, we want to be clear, right?"
Next, watch out for penalties. Anything more than one hour's pay
for an infraction is too high. So, for penalties, just argue.
And the key here is ask questions. They'll say, "Well, that's
our rule" and you say, "Look I really want to work here, and I
am not going to break the rules, but (here's the asking) can we
change that penalty to…?" No? Then say, "Well, gee (now you are
not signing), do you know(again asking) that that's going to be
a problem for me? OK, well, can we both think about it for a
little while? Then, as they sit their with the pen in their
hand, you leave. Leave. And go to school number two and do the
same thing.
It's a seller's market for English teachers in Taiwan: you've
got the product that they want. Start out early and can keep
your sense of brinksmanship alive. Bring them right up to the
edge, then walk out. Then, call back and say you want to see
them again. DON'T start talking on the phone. Just say you want
to see them. Walk in all smiles, sit down and ask them the same
questions again. Look, all these schools are in the same
situation: they face more students than they have teachers; it
doesn't matter which one you work for as long as you are being
respected, doing a good job and not being worked to death. But,
Taiwanese/Chinese ideas about an employee's rights versus his
responsibility to "the company" are really different to any
Westerner's. They think you should work for free sometimes. They
think you should be grateful. They have even been known to ask
you to pay for their materials. This is how you get what you
want. Once they've seen that demo, heard you say that you want
to sign and then seen you calmly walk out, they'll change their
regulations to keep you.
What are the other points to watch out for on these contracts?
Meetings: I knew a school that had a mandatory meetings twice a
week: 8:30am on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. But, since
Wednesday and Friday were the schools longest days this
translated into a simple equation for the foreign teachers:
Sunday night, no problem. Monday night, go to bed early, gotta
be at school for 830 Tuesday meeting. Tuesday night, long day on
Wednesday - gotta teach 8 classes, go to bed early. Wednesday
night, got an 830 Thursday meeting, go to bed early. Thursday
night, gotta teach 10 classes on Friday, go to bed early. So,
meetings can kill. And usually they are just pointless (these
particular meetings consisted of the foreign teacher reading the
5 lines of Kindergarden text to the Chinese teacher, who never
asked any questions). It would have been really easy BEFORE the
contract was signed to ASK, "Can I meet with my teachers at
lunchtime, naptime, after-school?" The manager would have said
OK.
Deposits. They all want a deposit. What IS a deposit? Well, in
coming to teach English, there's little to keep you in your
position should some flight of fancy grab your attention. So, to
encourage you to stay, they'll deduct a part of your salary from
the first few paychecks. You get it back if you finish the
contract. If you leave before the year is over, you lose that
money. Usually, its anywhere between 20,000 to 30,000 dollars.
Sounds wrong, doesn't it? Well, they are not only wrong, but,
according to Taiwanese law, illegal. Fewer and fewer schools are
asking for them because they have been losing when teachers
choose to fight. Still, you will encounter them. The question
is, do you reject the school outright for asking for a deposit?
One strategy is to plead finances and ask for help: tell them
you cant afford it and please could they help you by taking the
deposit starting from you third check? When you put it this
way-poor me-they will say, "Sure, no problem." Remember how hard
they've worked to get you by this time (your having walked out a
few times). Leave this part for the end; their approval will
come easily if you do. Now, you'll have a chance to see if you
like the school and they have something to lose. Should they
treat you badly, you could still walk.
Those are my key points. They've come from actual practice. I
have used them to get the concessions I wanted here in Taiwan.
The basis is to start early, build a rapport with a tour, demo
well, and say yes. Then, just before you sign, start asking
questions. And be ready to cheerfully walk out. "Well, gee, you
know, that's going to be a problem for me? Can we both think
about it for a while?", all said with a big smile. Now, get back
to work.
