I know a group of teachers last year that tried to take a well known private school to court over various acts of blantant labour abuses. They fell like rocks when a well known law firm (which also wrote the law book we were using to find information) told them the law they published did not apply to us. Since then I have been very cautious about my work contract.

I have been at one school now for a year and a half and have been told that I would be offered a new contract within the month. During a conversation about the changes in the contract which are minor. I ask how that applied to a spacific right. It was about giving a months notice to resign and the principal could reject it. If you left you would pay month months pay for damages and lose all bonuses etc….Now I know they can not do that because of the pay cycle but it is in the contract for a teacher at this private school. They want 90 days to allow them to hire, advertise, and do paper work blah blah blah. O.k. in a way that makes sense. They even tell you at least six months in advance you will not be rehired. So fair is fair.

The surprising thing I was told (and the reason for this writing), is the Human Resource Director who is very knowledgable said, “This is only a work agreement but you have a license from the Government of Thailand as recognition you are a professional teacher. That means we are bound by the Thai Labor Laws and the MOE Profession Teachers Labour Law. We must use them combined for you if you have a license. If you do not we do not have to use the law. I immediately began to think that foreigners can not hold a government position by law. So how can we be viewed as a equal to a government employee with rights guaranteed because we hold a license from the government? That sounds confusing I know. Especially, when the Thai teachers are also exempt from the law at a private school. (However, the Thai teachers have a different contract at most schools anyway.)

Thinking this was bull I asked her if I could see it and behold she had it. Quite plainly it said, “Profession Teacher Labour Laws” with Thai Ministry of Labour, MOE, Counsel of Teachers, etc…..all over it. She let me thumb through it and I did notice specific things like 30 days sick leave, 30 day notice to resign, professional development and payments for various situations. I admit I did not get a chance to absorb much as it was a fast thumb through. This book is not allowed out of the office.  Does anyone know where it would be available as I can not find it on the web by the name I have?

Also, Attached in the front was a PDF file that caught my attention. Apparently in 200? (forgot the date, 2006 I think??) a revision endorsed by the king amended the Labour Protection act and specifically said all teachers and principals were covered by the same laws as everyone else. All persons working in Thailand were to be covered. I am home now and I appologize for not giving the correct title here. This I did look up. I have it at work and will post where to get it later. Note: In this amendment there is a article that does mention something that rings of the exception to teachers but it is very ambiquous and not forcefully stated as in the act of 2551 (1998). This makes me think that many of the clauses and conditions in the contract are there because we don’t know about the laws and this protects literally 100% the school against a teacher that knows nothing about rights. Most foreigners do not rock the boat and do very well teaching and rights are not a big issue but when it does become an issue it is usually at the worst time. So you need to know just where you stand if you need to.

I am not wanting to ignite the rights of teachers again as it was a very emotional and stressing experience but it is important to know what is out there. Also, the law firm we used could also be working for the school we tried to address and did not want to go against them. What this means is the information is out there but as foreigners we are placed in a gauntlet at the very bottom of hell and told if we can find the map we are free to leave. This is why some teachers win and some lose.

As ajarn.com is a very well known and connected/established web site and/or company I am sure they have reputable and experienced legal staff or mimimumly competent representation. In addition, it confuses me as if this is the case and so many issues in this area come up constantly, why is there not a site, link or available access to finding these PDF, legal postings, etc…... for us to see. This is not for commentary of complaining but a directory that much like a search engine will direct you to the page that you can read and know it exist not just a mythical creature of knowledge. My own example: I have the PDF but forgot to bring it home. Why shouldn’t we as advance professionals have access to an informational site that would show everyone what I have so my word is not the only thing you read.

Seeker of Knowledge

Okay. Ajarn. I followed your advice. I saved some money, packed all my certificates, transcripts, police criminal record check and impeccable work references, and headed to Thailand to work as a TEFL teacher. I thought I had everything covered, except just one thing. Nobody actually tells you the truth here. Nobody. I’m actually quite impressed by the amount of total shit spoken by institutions. I signed up to do a TEFL course in November. I was assured by the chap who interviewed me before I even left London that I would “have a full time job and permit within about 3 weeks.“ Okay, it’s not their responsibility to find me work, they provided an excellent teaching course and the instructors could not be faulted.

However, The fact that they must have known that NO schools or institutions actually hire people full-time until at least March means they were proactive in offering us misleading information simply to fill their November course placements. That’s £1000 well spent! As a result of this misinformation those of us remaining in Bangkok following the course have wasted hours and hours of our time, and thousands of baht of our money looking for jobs that are simply not there. My advice. Just ignore the advice completely when training providers inform you that it is easy to find work in Thailand - and simply sign up for the February course instead.

Part two of my whinge. Many teachers inform us on this site to steer clear of agencies. Um, not too sure whether or not you’ve had a chance to check the vacancies on your website yet, but they are all linked to agencies. ( yes, even the ones that list the contact as the name of a school!) Simple fact being that you pretty much don’t get to work in Thai state schools unless you go through an agency.  Just try it. You will be referred to an agency and the school will inform you they have nothing to do with the hiring of foreign teachers. I know, because it’s happened to me pretty much every job I have applied for. The upshot is - 3 months after successfully completing my TEFL course. I am still working part-time for agencies and schools - getting an excellent reputation by the way - my permit is about to run out, and every job I apply for is another agency apologising for not being able to offer full time work. Simple fact is, it’s really hard to get a decent job here. Don’t listen to anyone who tells you otherwise.

Phil says - thank you for your letter to the ajarn postbox. It’s a shame that you couldn’t put your name to it but never mind. Having read your letter twice, I’m convinced it’s written out of anger rather than by someone who has a full grasp of the facts. After all, you’ve only been here a matter of a few months. It would be impossible to become an expert on the Thailand TEFL scene in such a short time. Incidentally, you have been working here and applying for jobs during what is undoubtedly the quietest period of the year. Very few schools hire in December and January. And that is also written on ajarn.com and something it seems you failed to read and take on board.

I deleted the part of your letter where you claim that the TEFL course certificate you obtained is hardly recognised by any of the schools in Thailand. In my opinion (and that of many others) the TEFL certificate you obtained is probably the most recognisable and widely-accepted certificate in the world. To say it’s hardly recognised by any schools here is completely inaccurate. And how many schools have you applied to and actually got an opinion of whether they value the certificate or not? Fifty? Hundred? Because that’s how many you need to survey before you are able to make such a bold statement. I could go on but if I analyzed every sentence and pulled apart what you’ve written, I would be here all night.

Mr T

A lot of this has to do with energy and enthusiasm and not age - though I do take the point about age and in my twenties in Thailand I found it easy to get work. What I saw over the years in Thailand though were a number of older teachers who had, over the years, gained a lot of experience but somehow lost their love of teaching along the way and had failed to realise it or, if they had, they were often in denial about it. But this much was clear from the way they conducted their lessons - well structured, linguistically meaningful sessions, as their experience would suggest, but conducted on auto-pilot -  as well as their general conversation relating to their profession which lacked passion or was even downright negative. Students and collegues pick up on this and often, no-doubt unfairly so as regards well qualified, experienced older teachers, this leads to the hiring manager not wanting to make the same “mistake” twice. This is like any hiring situation - it’s risk management and the perception of risk is often rooted in past experiences, whether the fundamentals upon which this belief system is underpinned by are real or imagined.

Let’s also remember that it’s all very well comparing a 20-year old layabout to a 50-year old with a degree in education but I also encountered a lot of 50-year olds without a degree in education - or a valid TEFL qualification for that matter. Indeed, I remember one such 50-year old criticising me to my colleagues behind my back because I had chosen to go and get my CELTA. In fact, I would go so far as to say that the older teachers saw less value in professional development and had a track record that struggled to point to any - afterall, they are native speakers - what possible benefit could they have gotten from a TEFL course? Also, a lot of older teachers wouldn’t teach if they could get away with it. This, I find is less pronounced in younger teachers, who are still enjoying finding their way in life and collecting experiences - not a bad thing as long as they are doing so in a way that facilitates their learners’ development.

I also encountered seasoned teachers but their enthusiam had gone or they were wanting to slow down. Trouble is, your audience doesn’t get old with you - it rejuvenates on an annual basis and is always going to be 10 years old or whatever age group you teach. So whilst that combination of qualified, incredibly experienced and enthusiastic does exist - it is less common than you might think.

David Fahey

I have been teaching now in Thailand for six years and am pleased to hold a TCT license. I prefer to teach in government schools, because I know that I am only able to encourage the students to use the English they are taught. I have found that blame only comes to the farang teacher when he fails to involve the Thai teachers. Complaining about the students and other teachers actions really only makes tasks more difficult. When I fail a student or give low grades. I always suggest to the Thai English teacher that as they see the student more than me, that they must feel free to alter the result for the student the way they see fit….and 9 times out of 10 they change nothing, as my mark usually reflects the Thai teacher grade too. In fact I am then asked to speak with them and their parents too.

My stuggle is always the time I have to spend with each class and find my English only lessons are undermined by other imported teachers who will use more Thai in class then English when the previous year I taught them using English only. My simple advice is when a class goes missing! - make sure the workload that you would have taught isn’t so big that a hand-out to the class can be digested easily for revision at another date.

Phetpeter

I believe Ian is far to courteous to the government and its policies. He obviously has taught here for a while, so he should know that his students will not fail because they have not attended class. No student fails. Low grades maybe, but enough to pass. That is the Thai way of excellence in education and a promising career for the teachers and administration. A friend called me yesterday and told me he was being held accountable because his students had poor grades. He hasn’t seen his students in 3 weeks. This is a very typical reaction so the school and administrators can blame the foreign teachers. It’s called the “blame game” and the school administrators are very good at it.

Ralph