WonnabeBiker

Thank you in anticipation!

Oh, really? I only ever got 90 days for those... "1 year" you say? Probably you meant the conversion for the duration of your employment contract when back in Thailand...

On 12/14/2014 at 10:10 PM, Anthony5 said:

In Europe you will also get only 2 cartons per boarding pass.

No. Just 1 for EU countries  

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/the-filter/virals/11510823/Physics-teacher-hits-boy-in-testicles-with-axe.html

"They also checked and found Yom in good physical and mental health." Relly? Are they serious?!? Digging a grave would have been a sign of mental illness then?

Make sure to contact the Labour Inspections Office.

Oops. It was a quote from a Thai lawyer's e-mail. A Thai researched this and found no such office. It's likely the lawyer meant "protection" instead of "inspections". But when you work for a government school, the Labour Dept. won't really handle your complaint. Nor will the free Labour Court take a lawsuit.

So sorry about this - wish this answer could be deleted!

In all provinces over the country, there's a place- usually at the city hall-, where one can file a complaint.

They're the ones who can/will offer a free lawyer.

I assume that they also get in touch with the DoL. I don't really understand your post that those who work for a government school, are excluded.

I'll have to ask the American guy who went this way, to get clarification on that matter.

Well, first, someone promised assistance. But then he had to backpedal - as they apparently have little or no jurisdiction over "government schools".

It came as quite a shock that the most fundamental things remain uncertain over here.

Make sure to contact the Labour Inspections Office.

Oops. It was a quote from a Thai lawyer's e-mail. A Thai researched this and found no such office. It's likely the lawyer meant "protection" instead of "inspections". But when you work for a government school, the Labour Dept. won't really handle your complaint. Nor will the free Labour Court take a lawsuit.

So sorry about this - wish this answer could be deleted!

Numerous off-topic posts have been removed. This is not about grammar and unless someone specifically asks for comments about grammar or spelling it is not permitted.

A person can go to court whether you have a work permit or not. You are still covered under the labor laws.

If you are working illegally, you can get help from the Labour Department?

Yes! It's a private school and Labour Court is both free and effective.

Alas, for government schools, neither will be very helpful. (Some staff might make some promises but when you dig deeper, they have no authority over government schools). But you might get a referral to some other organization if you have a problem with a government school...

Well, I wish they would turn into a customer-centric service provider.

It's not always clear what constitutes >a good teacher<.

For English, it would help if

• the teacher were a NES or had outstanding pronunciation
• the teacher could actually speak, write and understad English. (The TOEIC score should be >700. It's absurd to hire foreign teachers with sub 600 scores while Thai talent has got no chance even with a >800 score to start at say 16,000 Baht).
• schools had a syllabus for each class and curricula.

Is there a book? Errm, maybe yes, only the students haven't gotten it yet. Or it's awful. - But hey, Thailand spends 4% of GDP on education?!

Your electric bill doubled a few months ago (in the cold season) or more recently?

If more recently (last month or so) it could just be working twice as hard to overcome the heat.

As lopburi points out, it could need cleaning and just be very inefficient as a result. It might also be low on refrigerant - look at the outdoor unit for any icing-up of the pipes - it's usually a good indicator that one of these conditions exist.

Thank you - can't see icing and was comparing the bills month by month (hot season with hot season).

Will order another service.

Thanks again to y'all for helpful hints!

Weather has heated up, A/C working harder.

Fridge will be working harder too.

EDIT. What temperature do you have set on the A/C? Does it ever attain that? Do you have bills from last year this time to compare?

Thanks for these good questions.

* Got the bills from last year (same period, same setting: 24 Celsius)

It is intermittedly "blowing" and often in silent mode. The temperature is not unreasonably low.

Bills really doubled.

We are renting but have been paying to have the AC maintained.

A few months ago, ourr electric bill doubled. It's got to be the AC, as the refrigerator is modern and frost free.

• Should we buy a meter to check actual power draw by the AC?
• what could cause this issue? Maybe we need to replace a part in the AC? (Had the filter and gas changed last time).

Thak you for all answers!

A list of provinces/places that have issued Work Permits on the trainer / expert / whatever route would help, but not all that much. Because just like in any office here, interpretation of the rules shifts hourly. Ask 10 different people, get 20 different answers.

I'm basically in the same boat. I want to be able to plan ahead -- multiple years ahead would be nice. But things essentially never work that way here, for me anyway.

As unhelpful as "life isn't fair" is, it is kinda correct. Especially here.

I've been working here for almost 10 years,which I know is less than a lot of you guys. I have a Bachelors of Engineering. I know of a lot of "unfair" situations, like non-NES Africans in a school near me getting paid 40-50% more than me because they got 5-year full teacher's licenses from Photoshopped B. Eds. Plenty of other stuff like that. In the meantime, I've been jumping through the hoops and generally doing things by the book (or at least, a fairly rigorous interpretation of the book). I think I easily do a better job of actually teaching than 95%+ of the random motley crew of semi-serious people, newbies, non-native speakers, backpackers, sex tourists, and other types that make up the labor pool of "English Teachers" here. But, I get paid the same as any new fresh-off-the-boat random hire, the same amount that I got when I started the job years ago ... and I don't complain about it. Actually, it is probably better that way, because in my experience any NES teacher getting paid more than any other NES teacher at the same school is going to be the first person looking for a new job when the front office realizes that they could just hire some random new person and pay them less. We are thought of as easily-replaced cogs in the machine. Quality and experience in teachers might be an item on the priority list at most schools, but it sure as $#!t isn't very high on the list.

Sorry for the rant. I don't have any solutions. I keep thinking that eventually the train will go off the rails in such spectacular fashion that things will HAVE to change. And I'm half right ... the train is off the rails all right, but heads seem to still too far buried in the sand to actually do anything about it.

Hear, hear!

This might seem arrogant, haughty and reeking of racist bias. But there are lots of people working as "English teachers" who

• can't speak the language well enough
• couldn't do the things a M4/1 student must be able to, like writing an essay
• never went to a university.

Asking a candidate to do some test makes perfect sense. Anyone with a genuine degree will be able to sit down and write hundreds of words in half an hour... A little reading test would also show how academically gifted someone is

Some people are more equal than others and I would guess that Thailand will have more foreign teacher SCANDALS with some backlash regarding criminal record and other checks. Vietnam requires the verification of documents by the teachers' embassies...

Hello!

This is what I have so far done. (in chronological order)

1. To apply for a Non-B visa (good for 3 months) in Vientiane, Laos

2. To apply for a provisional teacher's license (good for 2 years) at TCT in BKK

3. To apply for a work permit (good for 1 year) at the Labor Office of the province where my school is located

4. To apply for a 1-year extension of my Non-B visa at the Immigration Office of the province where my school is located

This is what I heard you must do to teach for another year. (in chronological order)

1. To extend your work permit for one year

2, To extend your Non-B visa for another year.

HELP!!

What are the poor guys with their 9, 9,5, 10 and 10,5 months' contracts gonna do?!

Amazing, how my wife managed to do that return without my involvement.

Thanks for sharing - we need to get our ducks in a row. Shame about schools not deducting anything.

Kudos to the Ssingaporeans! Chances are, the guy would have kept his job.

Thailand needs to learn how to deal with crooks - especially those in high positions and in uniform.

Have you ever been gobsmacked?

My school's clever HR lady claims they "lost" my contract.

They got many photocopiers (and have shown little restraint when it comes to violating copyrights; but then, is there a single government computer running a legal version of Windows?). They got a stamp to verify a true copy. And they got lots of helpers, including secretaries and xx unpaid students from the university.

This lady thinks this was the ultimate arguement to end all discussions.

What's up with this?

It would be nice if every job ad would include the name of the employer and the paid months of a contract. Similar to banks posting the APR or APY.

Seems this is now becoming more and more common. Instead of their corporate name, they advertise as "XXXXXXX School in YYY". Or theyy bait and switch. Those who respond to an ad for the city of XXX may get some other offers.

During a job interview, I heard that there would be a "deposit" needed which would be refunded on the first day. Seems many teachers won't show up. And a B-Visa is valuable

The times, they are changing!

500 baht an hour is what an inexperienced English teacher charges for 1 to 1 lessons.

I used to do seminars about 8-10years ago and charged 1000 baht an hour.

With inflation, I suggest you do it for nothing less than 1000 baht an hour.

1900 baht for a whole day is an insult.

That's what the government through the educational area xxxx office pays for in a small town. 600 baht an hour.

That on the other hand also depends on how many trainees you've got.But I'm okay, if the pay 600 baht/hour for a seminar for 40, or less.

And considering that I a;so receive my teaching salary at the same time, ( if it's a school day, or not) a fair deal.

Another English Camp organized by my school for the town hall (Amper?) and was compulsory @ 800 Baht. Then that amount was reduced because admin had one more mouth to feed. No, they wouldn't pay the extra teacher out of their own cut! Had to cancel 6 classes at a center and that cost me 1,000 B as I was paid 300 B/hr at a center.

OP, will you be looking for another job? Knowing these directors might be useful...

Consider yourself lucky. Last time such an event was planned, our director blindsided the 4 new teachers within minutes of the first meeting he had. Every body being eager to please and all that... Will you hold a seminar... during the holidays. He failed to find paying Thai teachers, so we had to teach some M4 and M5 classes (in a meeting hall). Payment? What payment?!? At that time, most Thai teachers were on Fall holidays...

The financial deals which are going down in even some small English department in some rural government school are something else!

My wake-up call was when there was some "English Tour" for 250 students. Foreign teachers were asked to pay the full retail price. Q: You think Thai teachers paid a single Baht?!?

When a teacher returned to California due to an illness of a parent, the school never told the paymaster that they had one teacher less to pay. Instead, they passed on the work load and then scheduled the meeting about how to pay us for the extra work so that another payday was missed. And then, the last payday, the agreement wasn't honored at all. Yours truly got 4 k a month for several classes plus all the test taking and related work including entering many scores into a computer).

English Camps are another money maker. Usually, one gets 0 Baht although it will be on a weekend. When our HoD demanded about 280 for some darn shirt, that was another reminder what this is all about. Departments usually have surplus funds. Trips to Hot Pot or purchase of a high end Sony TV costing more than what I'm making in 2 months? You bet. (Now there is constant Thai content making work a little bit harder for those who want to work in a huge office).

Money. Due to nonpayment of TOT's leased server and related (ISP) fees, my school was cut off alltogether. Why worry? Let the school be internet free for weeks! How come the school ran out of funds - or were funds deviated to some "Mercedes Savings Plan"?

Good luck OP, and may you get some money! (Foreign teachers were "contracted out" to hold English Camps at nearby village schools. I'd like to know how much profit the director made. We were handed 500 Baht for 8 hours on a Saturday.

Make sure to contact the Labour Inspections Office.

Dishonesty prevails in the TEFL industry. Can't comment on China, Japan and Korea. But each and every school has pulled a fast one.

Contracts. Bet she made you work first and sign it then later (if ever)!

• Length of contract
• Terms like paid holidays
• even the salary itself. (Chinese teachers flew over, trusting e-mails. But then the fun and games started and they got the sucker treatment)
• a school might decide to send all foreign teachers home in February / not to advertise until late May. Anything to boost the director's "Mercedes Fund"?
• has anyone been tricked by getting some "contract" which was all in Thai? The foreigner might not even know that he signed a contract!
• some schools simply don't do any of these things: B-Visa, WP, ...
• one advertiser confronts NES with the minimum TOEIC score of "550". There you have it, another HR person who doesn't know what she is doing.
• many Thais are scared of foreigners.

Some language centers don't have the hours for a full-time teacher. But they talk the talk. One such center never pays their foreign teachers. Those *get it* and they leave. Then the center will send them a text or a Facebook message which states <since you have left, we won't pay you...>

Others make a long contract and if they want something, they are softening up the teacher. Non-payment is a good way. After a week, the teacher will be desperate for s o m e money. Time to pounce. Pay less (something beats nothing) and then force to sign another contract. Which may or may not be honored.

We would need to check out employers. Many are dodgy. Teachers who will start on a B-Visa are both, lucky and a minority.

• Who pays for the WP?
• What if a school messes up the process and yet another B-Visa will be needed?
• Who pays for the B-Visa and the travel?
• Social Security?

Why do they do it? Because they can! They can predict that they will be getting away with it. The foreigner might swear or complain but that's like dogs bark, while the caravan moves on

The OP is a trail blazer if he fought back successfully.

Miss Wurst might apply - she knows how to look pretty (errm, when she isn't sporting a full beard). Moreover, she can sing quite well https://www.google.co.th/search?q=Austrian+Wurst&espv=2&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=xhQVVZs0i5e4BOSwgcgO&ved=0CBwQsAQ&biw=1366&bih=643

super idea and so easy to implement. It basically means that the existing 50 minute periods are slashed in 40 minute periods. If not, schools would need 20% more classrooms and 20% more highly qualified teachers. Thumbs up, schools can start planning today.

You've nailed it. All these announcements. and then there is the sad reality.

Some schools don't even have a chair and a table for each student. But hey, let's plan a modern classroom with interactive I-Pads etc. (In the mean time, check out the director's oppulent quarters)

...

Classroom size isn't everything!! We had to teach combined M4-6 classes and it worked. No one came who didn't want to be there. The noise level was low, they were motivated. One could generate more time that way.

They won't be building more classrooms or hire more teachers, that much goes without saying.