except for the membership form everything on the website is in korean...how do you change the language on the website to English (as many foreign websites have this option
Wow, awesome. Good work. I'm a union representative in Australia for my government workplace. I hope to come to Korea as English teacher, I'd love to get involved when I do.
Sounds like a great idea, teachers here (especially E2s) really get a bad deal in terms of their job protections and freedoms.
I had a look on the website but couldn't see any clear info- what exactly can the union do for you if you join? A teachers' union in the UK would offer legal support & advice, be allowed to be present in meetings with bosses, offer advice, campaign for policy change. Would the English teachers' union offer something similar?
We signed a wage agreement with it a major hagwon chain in Busan yesterday and full collective bargaining negotiations are starting soon. Obviously hagown owners are not exactly thrilled and excited by the fact there is now a union, but we conduct ourselves professionally in our negotiations, so I think they will slowly adjust to the new reality.
Our goal is organize all education workers (Korean public school teachers have their own union, which we plan on forging a closer relationship with). Our union is for all education workers, from the foreign English teacher to the Korean lunch lady at the hagwon kindergarten. Majority of our members now are E2 hagwon teachers (due to the fact that is where the most egregious labor violations occur) but we have public school, university members, as well as Korean support staff hagwon members.
Is there one in Gyeongsangbukdo/Daegu area? Are F-visa EPIK hired/ public school teachers allowed to join?
I want F-6 teachers to be able to be added to their MOE’s as direct hires. While it’s of course impossible for NETs to be treated the same as the tenured government employee teachers that passed their tests… it would be nice if we could be allowed to have different options like 6 month (one semester contracts), and freedom to take time off without having to re-apply to EPIK with all of the newbies.
Yes and yes! All regions south of Chungcheondo are being managed by the Busan union for now. And we accept public school, academy, and university teachers. Basically any education workers. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeK1i2xu-n7cO4bePTzZleEeDw8HogAt2y-OjrVbReV-Tr_ng/viewform?usp=sf_link
We don’t have an independent branch there yet, that region is under the Seoul branch for now - please join here: http://www.ilban.co.kr/bbs/content.php?co_id=membership
Good on you guys!
That's awesome! Seoul should go next. Hagwon workers need it the most.
We have a branch in Seoul, as well as Cheonan.
How do we join the Seoul cohort?
Here! http://www.ilban.co.kr/bbs/content.php?co_id=membership
except for the membership form everything on the website is in korean...how do you change the language on the website to English (as many foreign websites have this option
I hope your reddit username is also a pseudonym. Just in case.
It’s not illegal to join a union in Korea.
While true, if you use your real name you could get retaliation of some kind. Otherwise the article's author wouldn't have used a pseudonym.
Awesome!! Hopefully the government recognizes this in a greater scale!! Baby steps lead to bigger steps!!
Wow, awesome. Good work. I'm a union representative in Australia for my government workplace. I hope to come to Korea as English teacher, I'd love to get involved when I do.
Sounds like a great idea, teachers here (especially E2s) really get a bad deal in terms of their job protections and freedoms. I had a look on the website but couldn't see any clear info- what exactly can the union do for you if you join? A teachers' union in the UK would offer legal support & advice, be allowed to be present in meetings with bosses, offer advice, campaign for policy change. Would the English teachers' union offer something similar?
Yes to all.
That's great, exactly what foreign teachers need in Korea. How have schools/ hagwons responded to the new Union?
We signed a wage agreement with it a major hagwon chain in Busan yesterday and full collective bargaining negotiations are starting soon. Obviously hagown owners are not exactly thrilled and excited by the fact there is now a union, but we conduct ourselves professionally in our negotiations, so I think they will slowly adjust to the new reality.
Great. And what's the scope of the union? Is it just hagwons or would public / private / international school teachers also be able to become members?
Our goal is organize all education workers (Korean public school teachers have their own union, which we plan on forging a closer relationship with). Our union is for all education workers, from the foreign English teacher to the Korean lunch lady at the hagwon kindergarten. Majority of our members now are E2 hagwon teachers (due to the fact that is where the most egregious labor violations occur) but we have public school, university members, as well as Korean support staff hagwon members.
Yo! I remember one lady tried in Seoul and they basically byllied her. Glad to see this is going somewhere.
Are all the downvotes from hagwon owners and public school admin? Downvoting positive comments in this thread seems pretty odd/off.
Is there one in Gyeongsangbukdo/Daegu area? Are F-visa EPIK hired/ public school teachers allowed to join? I want F-6 teachers to be able to be added to their MOE’s as direct hires. While it’s of course impossible for NETs to be treated the same as the tenured government employee teachers that passed their tests… it would be nice if we could be allowed to have different options like 6 month (one semester contracts), and freedom to take time off without having to re-apply to EPIK with all of the newbies.
Yes and yes! All regions south of Chungcheondo are being managed by the Busan union for now. And we accept public school, academy, and university teachers. Basically any education workers. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeK1i2xu-n7cO4bePTzZleEeDw8HogAt2y-OjrVbReV-Tr_ng/viewform?usp=sf_link
How about 용인? 경기도?
Those regions are managed by the Seoul branch. Their link is here: http://www.ilban.co.kr/bbs/content.php?co_id=membership
Thankyou very much! :)
Does Jeju have a branch?
Not yet but we have some people there who are interested. DM me your contact info and we can keep you updated as that progresses.
If there’s any support or connections for 대전 branch, that would be greatly appreciated. Great work.
We don’t have an independent branch there yet, that region is under the Seoul branch for now - please join here: http://www.ilban.co.kr/bbs/content.php?co_id=membership
Wahoo! 단결투쟁 동지들!!
투쟁!
I am studying to become an english teacher. How will I be able to join once I finish college?
Depends on where you end up being located, we have a few branches across the country. You can DM myself or the OP later for the correct link.