Foreign teachers at Nova successor say they are suffering unreasonable dismissals

Saturday 26th April, 03:57 PM JST

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eaoin at 09:55 AM JST - 27th April

Actually, right now there's a dire shortage of teachers in many branches and many students can't book lessons. This should be the big story, because students are the victims once more, but it would kill G.communications NOVA off, and embarrass the government again.

Following the betrayal of 'option B' instructors, who were offered 150,000 yen up front (much needed after 2-3 months without payment) in Dec if they deferred commencement of work until Jan 10th, but were later informed that G.com couldn't employ them, most of us learned what kind of company we were dealing with. Since then more unfair dismissals followed.

Many of us were riding it out until the hiring season in Mar-April, and there has been a mass exodus of teachers in that period. All four instructors at my branch in Yamaguchi left within 2 weeks of each other in March and they haven't found permanent replacements, instead relying on help-stay instructors from Kobe and Kumamoto.

Students at my former branch are being asked to take multi-media lessons and wait until more instructors arrive, but some have already cancelled their contracts. I've heard the same thing is happening all over Japan.
GW at 10:47 AM JST - 27th April

its a sad sad situation, clearly everyone directly involved shud not be surprised by any of G Comm`s actions. As spudman correctly pointed out the good ole transfer is the tried & true way to get people to quit in Jpn, simple as that.

People if your looking to seriously stay in Jpn & if yr married & starting or already have kids in the mix you simply MUST avoid the major english schools they cannot been seen as serious means of employ. If you want to tech for a living set up yr owns gigs if you think yr able otherwise simply GET OUT otherwise your in for a world of hurt guaranteed & probably sooner rather than later!
Starviking at 11:27 AM JST - 27th April

It occurs to me that G-comm asking a 51 year-old employee to leave his pregnant wife and relocate across the country was a roundabout way of getting rid of an older employee...
irishosaru at 01:03 PM JST - 27th April

Starviking, you are absolutely correct.

As a former Nova teacher who hears what's still going on from a former RAAM (pretty high position in the company), I know that this is not an isolated incident.

When G-Education hired "every" teacher in that wave of generosity, a large number were put on "standby", meaning that they were not allocated any branch, and received part of their salary to wait at home until a branch could be found for them.

Most teachers got out before or when Nova went bankrupt, but some, mainly the long-term employees for whom a move to another company would mean a significant drop in salary, decided to stick it out and hope that Nova, and subsequently G-Education, pulled through.

What G-Education has realised is that they are paying salaries as high as 400,000yen to a lot of these teachers, which is almost double what a new employee would earn at most language companies.

They're trying to get rid of these employees in any way they can. A look at "LetsJapan" forums should make that clear. People are being let go for the most trivial of reasons imaginable.

In the case of the 51-year old teacher, I'm confident he was chosen to be transferred to Kyushu on the basis that, given his family situation, he was likely to refuse, and thus give G-Education a reason to let him go.
realist at 06:20 PM JST - 27th April

Nova is bankrupt, and the name shoulod not have been preserved. It should have been confined to the annals of history. Obviously the people who took over the reins of the failed Nova are just as awful as the original owners.
njboy13 at 11:21 AM JST - 28th April

realist-couldn't have said it better myself! That has been the problem with Japanese society as a whole, trying to revive dead businesses by the gov. or by other companies. It's best to let them go and move on with better equipped companies. It also stymies entrepreunership.
westurn at 11:38 PM JST - 28th April

Sorry, but all you Novanines done screwed yer pooch but good. The fact you couldn't keep your company afloat and yer jobs secure through union activities is once again reflected in your inability to hold a job at G-Ed. Time to face the facts.. there is something about "you", the novanine thats the problem. And I for one wish you would simply pack your whinin' carcasses and leave ! Trust me... it's not the system thats against you ! It's you !
eaoin at 09:45 AM JST - 29th April

The company is responsible for the quality of instructors it hires and therefore teaching standards, not the other way around. And G.com's actions have done nothing to improve teacher quality, those who had other options have taken them.
1keiron at 09:25 PM JST - 29th April

I'm hoping to teach English in the Osaka region after I complete my BA Japanese studies. Gee i hope there is something out there for me as really would like to teach and especially in Osaka.
Sarge at 09:31 PM JST - 29th April

1keiron - Are you foreign-looking and well-mannered? If so, I am pleased to inform you that English-teaching opportunities abound in Osaka!
Ultradude at 01:35 PM JST - 30th April

Sorry but if you stuck with Nova with all the trouble they had I can't conjure up a lot of sympathy for you. Try Vietnam...
eaoin at 12:00 AM JST - 1st May

1keiron if you want to make the most of your time here I'd avoid most of the big english conversation schools. ALT work is better but apart from the Jet program, companies that hire ALTs don't offer great pay or conditions. If you like kids I recommend conversation schools exclusively for kids. They offer better working hours and conditions, and you might have more opportunities to use your Japanese at work. I've heard Pepi Kids is pretty good.
1keiron at 06:57 PM JST - 2nd May

Thankyou Sarge and Eaoin for you replies, i take them as more self motivation to complete my studies. I plan to complete my BA Japanese studies in University then i'm all up for teaching anyplace around Osaka. I am foreign-looking and well-mannered, orginating from St Vincent, a small Carribean island; north of Venuzuala on the map. However I was brought up in the UK. I love to help my Japanese friends improve their English and watch them improve and at the same time learn more about Japan.I'm not too fussed about being loaded with money/high salary, as long as i can afford to live comfortable in Osaka and buy the odd gadget. Thanks again ^_^..On the subject about Nova, i've heard alot of bad news about them in the past and how their ongoing downfall has been provoked by staff strike antics. SO i dont have that much sympophy for them. In the UK its typical for workers to join the workers union, throw a fit and go on strike when they want a measly pay rise..so i'm guessing some foreigners are just forgetting their place in JP. If they dont like it they should pack their bags and stop polluting JP with ignorance.
romulus3 at 10:12 AM JST - 3rd May

**1keiron. **

I am not a teacher but a friend of mine is a co founder of a decent school down there with fairly good staff retention and average pay. The boss is rumored to be efficient and good to staff. the place has zero cash flow problems. the name is SALA in Namba and Umeda. check them out as a starting point. if you need a visa they can help you too.
eaoin at 11:03 PM JST - 4th May

Keiron1 your comments would flatter the union leaders, but they have nothing like the influence of English unions. There were no strikes last year until NOVA failed to pay salaries and there have been no strikes since the resumption of business, only negotiations.
Instructors are leaving (not striking) for their own reasons, and you should delay judgement until you know more about what they experienced (which means waiting until you've lived and worked in Japan a little while).
That said, I wish you all the best and hope you don't experience what I did, hence the advice above.