Greetings,

Yes, jinchafa, you are exactly right. We do come here with good intentions. Unfortunately, some employers and recruiters will be more than happy to take advantage of the continual flow of rookie teachers. They will try to work them like slaves and not follow the contract they agreed upon originally.

I have heard and seen this happen many times in China. That is why I have started an "club" that will later become a legal union. Unions are easy to start and are supported by the Central government.

The government does have an department called the Ministry of Labour, but as many places in China, they are not ready to recieve foreigners. Mainly because of the language barrier. However, many foreigners are protected under the labour laws, but they don't know them and they don't know how to file an arbitration claim with the Ministry. Most of China is rank with employers who do not pay properly or follow the labours laws (China Daily article about migrant workers who did not recieve their salaries after working).

I sincerely hope that we can share information about the situation here in China for EFL teachers.

you can join the union and post information at www.yahoogroups.com

or another excellent site, especially for ROK is

www.englishschoolwatch.org