Union claims English instructors hired illegally at Aichi schools

Tuesday 20th October, 06:29 AM JST

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alargo at 02:05 PM JST - 20th October

It is interesting to watch as the "coyote" agencies have diversified from populating factories with underpaid Brazilians and Peruvians to going after the "white" folk who are accustomed to a slightly better treatment. I wonder how many of these ALT's are aware of, or would even care about, the existence of those agencies?

The problem is more the ALT's who accept these conditions than racist Japan or a racist BOE. There is always a stool hanging around the union meetings and the coyote agent's office, and they always try to mess things up by saying things like "It's always the lazy ones who shirk off the extra burdens and who won't grovel as much as I do who have to worry about their jobs." Do you really think your going to get a promotion for saying that? A promotion to what? Are you going to be the big man on the corner down at the red-light district of coyote central?

The ALT's can only win if they really put it on the line--all of it. Don't waste your time with the BOE. You are only a joke to them and they will only laugh at you at their next nomikai. Go where the power is--go to the people. The people have the most at stake in their children's education, and they hold the purse-strings of the BOE. That and you have to find an answer to the stools and the scabs.

What do you think, robjapan?
robjapan at 04:25 PM JST - 20th October

alargo

First you will have to define what a "coyote" agency is for me before I can give you a response. As I am only a teacher who was explaining my experiences in Japan, I cannot understand your union propoganda explanations.

I was only saying that this quote, ‘‘It is lowering the quality of education as the situation generates anxiety among instructors about their employment and does not guarantee continuity in classroom teaching,’’ is interesting because from my experience I am not sure how striking 15 minutes before classes start, or calling co-workers scabs contributes to the quality of education. Quality teachers do not do such things, and do not worry about the employment situation. If you are qualified and really care about your teaching job and the professon, it is easy to get another job - especially one that is just below the poverty line! I know a lot of people who are qualified, and have lost thier jobs, and have quickly gotten new ones. Then there are those who do not belong in the teaching profession, who whine and try to get as much support as possible from outside organizations because they do not have any hope in getting rehired themselves.

Get the qualifications get a decent job - don't need a 'coyote' to figure that out.
Monoflow at 04:28 PM JST - 20th October

Even me can be english teacher in Japan... And acutally it's not my mother language.
noborito at 04:29 PM JST - 20th October

neverknow2, most out sourcing companies take no health and pension out of their staffs salaries. They call them temp employees or part-time. This adds to their profits.

So the boards don't have to deal with English speakers, because they themselves can't speak English. They can get kickback's for choosing the right company, and in the end they still get a body to play teacher. Interac hires Philippians left and right to teach. My friends kid always ends with "ya" which she learned in school from her Philippians ALT. May becomes Maya for example.

Schools are only baby sitting kids till they turn 16. Learning anything is not the point.
moonbeams at 05:29 PM JST - 20th October

I would think that Rob is a qualified instructor with a real teaching job, not an Interac ALT.

Rob, Interac ALTs are limited to "29.5" hours a week in order to be deprived of rights such as health insurance, pension, and annual bonuses. However, most ALTs are given a workload that goes over 30 hours by being dispatched to 3-5 schools a week.

These ALTs can always stay late, clock in early and do all the extra work needed to professionally do their jobs. However, who wants to be treated like that? It's quite humiliating for many people. ALTs sent to multiple schools have a much heavier class load than their Japanese counterparts, but don't receive any of the lucrative benefits from working for the BOE.
memyselfI at 09:20 PM JST - 20th October

no win situation
tigerguy at 09:49 PM JST - 20th October

It's embarrassing that the respect for the so called "English Instructor" has plummetted so much. My Eikaiwa/ALT friends who are all pretty old, wrinkly, fat or downright ugly tell me that they're the laughing stock and butt of jokes in Japan. I feel sorry for them and their crappy work conditions. Some of them are stuck for life and can't do or won't try to do something else. Can anyone predict the future for the Eikaiwa/ALT industries?
uggla at 10:16 PM JST - 20th October

Moonbeams: I previously worked as an ALT teaching at multiple schools and not once did I find it a humiliating experience. Yes I had more classes and students to teach every week but I had no problem preparing, planning and delivering a lesson which fulfilled the curriculum criteria and satisfied the students and HRTs. All the schools I taught at gave me ample assistance in lesson preps, I gave my Japanese counterparts more workload. Bush lover: To say that people who become ALTs as desperate, is so wrong. The majority of people that I know taking on the job as an ALT is here for the cultural experience, they don't take the job on as a career prospect, many take it on as a way to experience working in Japan for a while. I have to agree with Robjapan....the ones that do whine about pay and benefits and join these Unions (I've met quite a few)are ones that should not even be within the teaching profession and are insecure about future job prospects within the teaching sector. In my experience if you do the job well and work closely with your schools and other ALTs in your area, continuity and pay rise is not a problem.
KallyPygous at 10:34 PM JST - 20th October

Although allegedly illegal, this isn't the kind of story you expect to find in the crime section. Labour disputes should come under 'Business' or 'National' news.
usaexpat at 11:03 PM JST - 20th October

So to protect their own they're going to get these guys tossed out of a job, very nice. Typical union behavior and that's one more reason why union membership is not worth the price of admission
cracaphat at 11:35 PM JST - 20th October

The whole world is in a recession and where I live,I see Japanese giving out flyers for hair salons,restaurants,karaoke bars and gaijin for eikaiwas. And if these newbies are coming here,good luck to them.Maybe it is time to take the spot of the negative plenty that just love to whinge and offer nothing constructive. We can all do doom and gloom in private,in the meantime find a way OR you get up and leave.
bushlover at 06:58 AM JST - 21st October

That's right BurakuminDes. But uggla can't see it that way. They are all here for a couple of years for the cultural experience and to give it their best shot. Making it hard for those who have dedicated their lives to it to make a living giving it an even better shot but get no security because of these cultural idiots.
moonbeams at 10:52 AM JST - 21st October

Moonbeams: I previously worked as an ALT teaching at multiple schools and not once did I find it a humiliating experience. Yes I had more classes and students to teach every week but I had no problem preparing, planning and delivering a lesson which fulfilled the curriculum criteria and satisfied the students and HRTs. All the schools I taught at gave me ample assistance in lesson preps, I gave my Japanese counterparts more workload.

That's nice, but were you enrolled in shakai hoken? Did you get a bonus?　Were you compensated for your overtime? If not, then you were used. The whole point of this debate is that workers should not be used like this. There are laws to protect workers and companies are finding loopholes to save profits while hurting their workers. Not just ALTs, but many Japanese are having similar difficulties.
moonbeams at 10:54 AM JST - 21st October

So to protect their own they're going to get these guys tossed out of a job, very nice. Typical union behavior and that's one more reason why union membership is not worth the price of admission

If these guys are worth their salt, they will be able to directly hired by the BOE and receive proper compensation for their work.
alexmacintosh at 08:20 AM JST - 23rd October

I have worked in the ALT/Eikaiwa world for nearly four years, and have heard such debates before. While it is definitely true that some of the people who find themselves working in this industry are not professional and have various issues, the majority of people do the best that they can under the circumstances.

I find it interesting that people so often bring up the "the good people can always get good jobs" argument and the "get qualified, get a better job" argument. These two things are true as far as they go, but they seem to presuppose that decent conditions are some kind of a privilege only deserved by some worthy people.

However ego-boosting that may be for the speaker I don't think that is true. I think everyone has the right to decent conditions in whatever job they work in, whether that is in an Eikaiwa, as an ALT, in a bank, for a convenience store, as a university lecturer, or whatever. The more people with decent conditions the better society will ultimately be in the long run.