My Fight with my Employer!

[sillygirl]

Yep. Had some nice privates in my time in Japan (*snickers* looks around...nope. Gboothe not around to chops me).

But I know lots of people who worked for Eikaiwas for years and had no ambitions to do otherwise. Most of them were the 'work to live' gang.

Teaching is really what you make of it.....

Personally, I had a right laugh. Loved my students, they loved me. Became mates with most of them (ie: drinking buddies, family lunches, snowboarding trips etc) and am in contact with them now.

I worked 25 hours a week and wore jeans if I wasn't at Honda / Nissan etc. Honestly, it was one of the best jobs I've ever had. I'm still teaching now, part-time, because it's a nice little earner and still fun...

Like I said - it is what you make of it.....

[Fat Man]

You've been working in Eikaiwa for 8 years!? Holy shit man, that's horrible! In the very least you should set up your own school where after some time & effort you can expect to make a half-decent wage of 400,000 a month or so.

It is not as easy as you think, money does not grow on trees.To start up an English School you have to pay alot of money up front, find a good location and probably the hardest is getting the students.
If you teach in your own home it won`t cost so much, won`t look very professional and I think most students prefer to not to study at somebody`s home.

[FG Lurker]

It is not as easy as you think, money does not grow on trees.To start up an English School you have to pay alot of money up front, find a good location and probably the hardest is getting the students.
If you teach in your own home it won`t cost so much, won`t look very professional and I think most students prefer to not to study at somebody`s home.

Yep, everyone has their excuses.

I've been here 11 years. I started a consulting business including setting up an office in downtown Osaka. I am well aware of how difficult it can be. Is the alternative of staying where you are better? Not from my perspective.

[Fat Man]

So over 8 years you have managed an average of 250,000 a year or a bit over 2man a month?

No, I have alot more than that, saving about 100,000 yen per month after taking out all the monthly expenses.

[FG Lurker]

No, I have alot more than that, saving about 100,000 yen per month after taking out all the monthly expenses.

So that would be 1.2million yen a year, or about 10 million yen in savings? That's a lot more than the "couple of million" that you wrote before.

If you do have 10million yen in the bank then start up capital for your own school isn't an issue... Unless you suck as a teacher and won't be able to get students of course. (Not meant as a flame, merely an observation.)

[Fat Man]

However, I worked hard and was a good employee (I actually enjoyed my job...shock, horror) and they treated me so well.

At one time I tried to quit. They offered me an instant pay rise and 2 weeks off the next month - I even got mae gari on my salary to pay for my flight home.

Basically, it boils down to this. Eikaiwas are businesses. If you are super popular and make money for them, not losing clients, your bosses will treat you properly.

I was a good employee for 4.9months untill I put my foot down and demanded
paid holidays .All the Foreigners who have been working there have been treated bad by their employer even though they are making alot of money.
When there was long vacation, all fulltime and partime staff only got a half a month salary.

Now it`s a good company to work for but there still alot to go to improve the working conditions for all employees and the future generations.

[FG Lurker]

Now it`s a good company to work for but there still alot to go to improve the working conditions for all employees and the future generations.

You've burnt your bridges there, you are no longer welcome! They won't fire you because they know you are a trouble-maker. But they will continually make your life there less and less pleasant until you quit. This is a very common Japanese method of getting rid of problem employees such as yourself.

[Fat Man]

So that would be 1.2million yen a year, or about 10 million yen in savings? That's a lot more than the "couple of million" that you wrote before.

If you do have 5million yen in the bank then start up capital for your own school isn't an issue... Unless you suck as a teacher and won't be able to get students of course. (Not meant as a flame, merely an observation.)

About half the amount you mention.
I don`t plan to stay in Japan forever, only after a quick buck then head back home to England with the wife.

[sillygirl]

....
back home to OZ with the wife.

Your profile says you're American???

[Fat Man]

.

1 Joined the Union
2 Got my employer investigated by the LSO
3 Took payed holidays
4 Enroled myself in unemployment insurance
5 Handed out flyers in front of the School
6 Had a meeting with the children parents about my problem with my employer
7 Didn`t go to the Christmas party
8 Started up a petition

[sillygirl]

.

1 Joined the Union
2 Got my employer investigated by the LSO
3 Took payed holidays
4 Enroled myself in unemployment insurance
5 Handed out flyers in front of the School
6 Had a meeting with the children parents about my problem with my employer
7 Didn`t go to the Christmas party
8 Started up a petition

Can anybody give me some more suggestions just incase my employer tries something nasty on me?

Sorry, but suggestions for what? More ways to piss your employers off?

[FG Lurker]

.

1 Joined the Union
2 Got my employer investigated by the LSO
3 Took payed holidays
4 Enroled myself in unemployment insurance
5 Handed out flyers in front of the School
6 Had a meeting with the children parents about my problem with my employer
7 Didn`t go to the Christmas party
8 Started up a petition

Can anybody give me some more suggestions just incase my employer tries something nasty on me?

Yeah, quit before they really get pissed off. I woulda fired your sorry ass long ago.

[Fat Man]

Your profile says you're American???

No, it doesn`t.Sorry to be so rude, I think you should go to an eye specialist and get your eyes checked out.

[Fat Man]

You've burnt your bridges there, you are no longer welcome! They won't fire you because they know you are a trouble-maker. But they will continually make your life there less and less pleasant until you quit. This is a very common Japanese method of getting rid of problem employees such as yourself.

If they do that then I will have to try every trick in the book.
If I ever do quit, plan to make a claim for the 20 mins that I have been coming in for the last two years.

[Fat Man]

Yeah, quit before they really get pissed off. I woulda fired your sorry ass long ago.

Yea, what ever you reckon!
I would have taken you to court , sued you for every yen you have for an unfair dismissal, you prick.

[Fat Man]

Sorry, but suggestions for what? More ways to piss your employers off?

No, to piss you off!Any suggestions?

[FG Lurker]

Yea, what ever you reckon!
I would have taken you to court , sued you for every yen you have for an unfair dismissal, you prick.

Man, I feel sorry for your wife. You're obviously a loser who is going nowhere in life.

[Fat Man]

Man, I feel sorry for your wife. You're obviously a loser who is going nowhere in life.

Man, you have some type of attitude problem, need a good hidden to wake you up out of your own world.Take a walk, you are not welcome here mate.

[FG Lurker]

Man, you have some type of attitude problem, need a good hidden to wake you up out of your own world.Take a walk, you are not welcome here mate.

I have an attitude problem?

You are right in that one of us is likely not welcome here. For some strange reason I don't think it is me.

[sillygirl]

Woah...

Now your profile says 'England'??!!

Yeah. Must be my eyes.....

Right. This is getting to be a bit trollish and I'm out of this topic.....

[kamome]

trollish

That's right. Please stop feeding the trolls, people.

[Buraku]

welcome to the fucked gaijin club

[GomiGirl]

Arrogant and ignorant - a very dangerous combination. Not smart enough to help himself but is a danger to all around him.

FatMan - don't shoot the messengers.. many of us here are employers and have been good employees and we have had no troubles like you claim to have. Unfortunately we are not telling you what you want to hear. Suck it up and buddy and realise that you have dug yourself into a hole that the union is not going to help you get out of.

You have screwed it up yourself.. no sympathy here.

GG out...

[Ketou]

Yea, what ever you reckon!
I would have taken you to court , sued you for every yen you have for an unfair dismissal, you prick.

Unfair dismissal just doesn't work here as is does in Australia. There's no three written warnings, no interviews and, as in oz, you certainly wouldn't get every penny he has. Compensation for unfair dismissal only amounts to the money you would have earned had you been working.

Whilst I understand your pursuit for fair working conditions (having fought union based battles against Japanese companies in oz) the ideology and ethics you apply are not as relevant in this society, yet.

EDIT: This study is a good read and may help you understand what it is you are up against. The Unspoken Contract

[FG Lurker]

EDIT: This study is a good read and may help you understand what it is you are up against. The Unspoken Contract

Sounds more like gaijin inferiority complex to me.....

[Taro Toporific]

This study is a good read and may help you understand what it is you are up against. The Unspoken Contract

Hee, hee, hee....

....inability of the host population [Japanese] to distinguish immersed foreigners from non-immersed foreigners leads to stress, anxiety, paranoia, self-alienation and emotional trauma for the immersed foreigner as he/she is presumed by the host population [Japanese] to be non-immersed.

[GomiGirl]

Immersion vs non-immersion

So we are are all assumed to be FOB FG's rather than SOP FG's... hhmmm

I have thought that for years...

[cstaylor]

For someone who was constantly quoting Einstein out of context, the author forgot the most important one: "Make things as simple as possible, but no simpler." You could summarize that entire article in three words: "people are prejudiced".

[Ketou]

For someone who was constantly quoting Einstein out of context, the author forgot the most important one: "Make things as simple as possible, but no simpler." You could summarize that entire article in three words: "people are prejudiced".

LOL. Bravo! That is so true.

[Ketou]

Sounds more like gaijin inferiority complex to me.....

Hehe..whether one turns to inferiority or superiority it's still a reaction to dealing with a society that will never accept you.