ThePyawkt

Hi Folks,

I am posting this as both a potential warning, and as a question, since I am having to go through this ordeal myself.

I have a Thai family and have been living and working here, full-time, for almost 5 years. I have been a teacher at a new international school for the last two years, having completed my second year at the school this last June. In January the school sent out questionnaires to some of the teachers saying that they were interested in having them back for next year, and were we planning on staying with the school. I was one of the ones who received the letter - I checked the YES box, signed the letter, and returned it to my coordinator. I would have a job next school year - HA!

February came and went, March arrived, and people began asking at teacher meetings about when contracts would be drafted, etc. We were told that a new business and HR manager was hired, and we would have to wait while they were brought up to speed.

March evaporated, and well into April, one or two people had been given contracts, but all the senior teachers, ready to begin our third year, had not been given any. When we would ask, again, we were told that the new HR dept. was working diligently to sort through our cases and et everyone taken care of, that we had nothing to worry about, and to please be patient.

May 1st arrived and ALL senior teachers received a "Letter of Gratitude" from the school saying that our last day of work was the last day of school, and to have a nice life. WE WERE OUT OUR JOBS!

We were given only 30 day notice, and notified long after all the job and teaching fairs had concluded in January and February - we were screwed, and many of us have families and kids! There was nothing wrong with our job performances - we all had glowing performance reviews. It was unprovoked.

We approached the HR Director, asking what this meant about the summer pay. The Director responded that we would be dealt with on a case by case basis as to whether we would receive our summer pay or not - even if it was in our BILINGUAL, signed contracts. Many of us also had an air ticket as part of our contract, and we were informed then that that would not be honored.

Searching job websites, it was clear that the school was recruiting new teachers to replace us, that were being offered a substantially lower salary - they sacrificed us to cut costs.

The last day of school came and went. The following day we went to the Thai Ministry of Labor, who reviewed the situation and agreed that a serious tort had been committed, and sent us to the MOE - that it fell under their jurisdiction. They promptly reviewed the case and agreed that the school would have to honor the summer pay, as outlined in our contracts, were a little uncertain about the air tickets, but said that we would each receive THREE-FOUR MONTHS SALARY FOR EACH YEAR WE HAD WORKED THERE, since we had been wrongfully terminated. This was the policy of the Thai labor laws and the labor regulations for teachers, set by the MOE.

I had heard of this before, and felt it made sense, to protect ALL teachers from schools that created these situations at the expense of dedicated educators. The case was sent to the labor court, and was first heard at the end of June.

The first hearing went well, and the judge and all members of the court indicated that the law would be applied and that the school would have to pay the balance of each contract, and 3-4 months of salary, per year worked, to each teacher, due to wrongful termination. The second hearing was sent for the beginning of July.

At the second hearing, the schools attorney produced a copy of a law that was enacted about 4 years ago that EXEMPTED FOREIGN WORKERS from the wrongful termination penalty set by the labor laws! The judge was shocked that such a thing existed, and immediately recessed to see if this was actually true. The Labor Court did not seem to even be aware of this law!

Upon careful research, by myself and the labor court, the law IS TRUE, and there appears to be no way around it. Thus, there is NO LONGER A PENALTY FOR THE WRONGFUL TERMINATION OF FOREIGN WORKERS AND TEACHERS in the Thai courts - this makes us all very vulnerable, not to mention the very racist implications of such a law!

I am wanting to make sure that people know of this issue and am asking if anyone else has experience with this issue or similar one, and if there is any knowledge out there pertaining to this. I have met with several lawyers, who all seemed surprised about the existence of this exclusion, and upon review, felt there was no way around it and no other protectionary provisions for foreign workers.

Any insight, knowledge, etc. would be very appreciated!

Thanks!

Jaktukam AGAIN....

PS: Here is an interesting article I found...

http://www.buddhistchannel.tv/index.php?id=8,4130,0,0,1,0

~R.

I have never seen anything compared to the Jatukam craze here in Thailand's amulet markets. This is madness. Every second person wears one of those amulets. Some recently made ones even have computer codes imprinted to show authenticity.

I wonder how long it will take until that bubble bursts.

What makes the amulet "real" or "fake" anyway? Maybe I missed something obvious, but I don't understand their logic as to what would make something mass-produced within this year "authentic" of "fake".... I am reminded of last year when the yellow shirt craze first hit the fan. My family baught one for me to wear to work on Mondays, before I even knew what was going on, and was proudly told over and over, when they presented it to me, that it was a "REAL" yellow shirt. Well, yes, it's yellow, and it's a shirt, undeniably.... but what made it "real" as opposed to "fake"? I was finally able to get an answer from a seemingly wise farang who informed me it depended upon where/who had manufactured the shirt, and whether they had been ordaned to do so by the Royal Government. Is this a similar case?

Side Note: I find my family and neighbors, again, have lost sight of the true meaning of the display, as they had with the "real" yellow shirt. There seems to be more emphasis on show and apearance, than the teaching or message the icon is meant to represent in the first place... does anyone else feel this?

~R.

Hi!

I am an SGI member from California, in the USA. I have been living and working in Bangkok for 2 years, and am finding it hard to connect with other members... the language barier is the biggest hurdle.

I have been practicing for 5 years and was YMD leader for the Davis District of the Sacramento Area, in California for 2 years. I have really missed going to SGI activities and Tozos since moving to Thailand. My family is Buddhist, but practices the common "Thai" version, so that has been a little bit limiting. I am really committed to getting involved and very active again with the SGI, and am hoping to find and make connections with the district in my area.

I was very excited to see your post, and was wanting to connect and chat, and was wondering if you know. Thanks!

~Rob

Thanks guys, keep the ides and brain storming going!

~R.

I need help! I am looking for an affordable convertible that seats AT LEAST 4 people. In the US, we had zillions, the Chrystler Sebring/LeBaron, Chevrolet Cavalier, Toyota Cellica, etc. - all very affordable and semi-practical for a small family. For the life of me, I cannot find any such type of car here, in Thailand - that is affordable! The only one I can find is either a BMW 3series or a Mercedes - both WAAAAY too expensive. The slightly cheaper ones are only 2-seaters (Honda S2000, Maz. Miata, etc.).

I miss having a convertible so much! I would think that with Thailand being so beautiful, that everyone would be driving a convertible!

Does anyone have any ideas or knowledge I do not? I just moved here and am not familiar with every car/manufacturer that is here, but I have checked the websites of all the manufacturers I see and can think of, and cannot find anything affordable. Also, if they are not making this type currently, does anyone know of one was made in recent history that I could look for used?

Thanks folks! Please give me any ideas!

~Rob

Sorry this topic has been done to death too many times.

Why don't you do a search ?

The bottom line always reads "don't do it "

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

sorry... I am relatively new to the forum and was asking for help. I did try to find out on my own and could not - I'm not trying to waste people's time. If someone has the patience to hash through it again, I would much appreciate it.

My niece's name is Boowa, which means lotus flower - I love that name! For a boy I like the name Songkram - not sure what it means. Congratulations & good luck!

~Rob

I am an American in the process of moving to Bangkok. My move date is Oct. 21 of this year. My question is: should/can I ship my current car over to Bangkok, or should I sell my current car and buy a new one when I arrive? My car is an '04 Honda Element, similar to a CRV, but much more practical for my lifestyle. I really love my car and hate the thought of parting with it. It is financed, in case that matters.

My reservations are about right hand vs left hand drive (my car has the steering wheel on the left, we drive on the right side of the road). Has anyone from America or else-where, with a left-hand drive, brought their car with them, and if so, what are the fees, restrictions, limitations, laws, etc. Any advice would be very appreciated - Thanks!!

Rob