Support Teachers for Rehire

After Interac and Nova joined forces to cost 65 Sapporo area teachers their jobs, the General Union is pushing to have two reinstated.

https://www.change.org/p/interac-give-thom-and-john-a-chance-to-work-as-alts-in-sapporo

 Go to the link above and sign the petition to support foreign teachers!

How low can eikaiwa go?

Now not only does Nova claim its teachers are 'independent contractors' to avoid paying proper salaries, it actually charges them to use the classrooms, That's right. getting charged just for turning up to work, to the tune of 150 dollars a month!

http://generalunion.org/Joomla/index.php/nova/1401-truths-about-nova-s-independent-contracts-2-paying-to-use-the-classroom

Big roundup today:  First if anything reinforces the rot in eikaiwa it's the general condition of employment in Japanese companies as a whole. Even the Labor Ministry has slipped in exploitative, illegal contracts for Labor Standards Office staff - the very people whose job it is to police such things in the private sector.  More here:

http://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20160218/p2a/00m/0na/008000c


And more Shenanigans from Nova. Now they're slipping illegal clauses into their already dubious 'subcontractor' contracts. Not only are they strong-arming staff on employee status into signing away their rights on renewal, they're also adding the demand that 'subcontractors' do not work elsewhere or moonlight in their own time. Sorry, Nova, if they're 'not employees', then you don't get a say!

http://generalunion.org/Joomla/index.php/nova/1388-truths-about-nova-s-independent-contracts-1-the-non-competition-clause

And Kinder Kids, another Peppy-style teaching sweatshop has been slipping illegal clauses into its contracts too. In this case trying to gain power to dismiss staff immediately without notice - against the law in Japan.

http://generalunion.org/Joomla/index.php/laws-and-rights/1372-illegal-contract-clauses-part-ii-kinder-kids

New Article Out!

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2016/01/06/issues/japans-english-teachers-rays-hope-amid-race-bottom/#.Vo1-exV97IX

New Nova Contract Dodgy as hell....

Yes Nova is embracing the 'independent subcontractor' excuse. Teachers will now see their pay and benefits even further eroded:

http://generalunion.org/Joomla/index.php/nova/1156-new-nova-contract-is-fishy

This should come as no surprise given the direction of the industry.  It is a wonder people even go to teach in Japan anymore.

High Teacher Turnover at Berlitz

Apparently the dreadful treatment at eikaiwa is sending teachers home in droves.

http://generalunion.org/Joomla/index.php/berlitz/1294-ch-ch-ch-ch-changes-teacher-turnover

 How long till the other big players follow suit?  More here.