Dec 24, 2007 20:34
When the time came to get jobs with the new NOVA, instructors were offered a choice.
Plan A was to go on the payroll immediately and be placed in a branch when positions became available.
Plan B was to take a lump sum payment of 150,000 yen and not go on the payroll until January 10th.
I took Plan A, of course, and have been working since the 3rd. I thought about Plan B - it sounded nice, and might open up a chance to go home for the holidays, but I rejected it on the basis that it wouldn't give me a paycheck until February, and 150,000 wouldn't be enough to offset not having been paid for five months.
Now I'm even happier I took Plan A because all the people who took Plan B just got told that they will not, in fact, be -rehired come January. They are, once again, out of a job.
It sucks. The timing is awful and a lot of people feel very betrayed. We had hoped that after dealing with NOVA's habitual mendacity, we had finally found someone who would make good on their promises. But it seems to me that GCom is in the habit of over-promising things, only to have to adjust the reality of it later.
Having said that, I understand why they did it. Branches are opening, and they're staffed to the gills, but the students aren't flooding back. At my branch, most teachers are only teaching for half the day, and other branches are even slower. I get the feeling that there are a lot of people being paid with nothing to do, and the drain on the company's resources is unacceptable. They simply can't afford to take the Plan B people on. It's nothing personal - just business.
But it still sucks. I know a lot of good teachers, really good teachers who are back pounding the pavement for work. Everyone who was saying, "These guys seem really good" a month ago now have the same look of resigned disappointment they had back in September because we apparently work for a company that is not realistic in its expectations or honest in its dealings.
And now those of us who signed back up are looking over our shoulders - will we be re-signed when our contracts come up? A lot of the people who stuck around are old instructors, and are therefore expensive to pay. If we are re-signed, will it be at the same salary, or will they give us a pay cut? What else don't we know?
This makes getting into the CELTA class even more important. I have to have an escape route ready if September comes and they decide that they don't need me around anymore.
*sigh*
POLL (not a real once since I only have a basic LJ account):
1) Do you or have you ever worked for a company that respects its employees?
2) What's it like?
nova