One of the biggest problems facing teachers at BKC-IH Moscow right now is the lack of legal visa support.
In a new blog by a BKC-IH Moscow teacher called BKC-IH Moscow Sucks: BKC-IH Moscow Should Be Disaffiliated With IHWO (International House), the teacher writes about the following problems that teachers face while working at his school in Podolsk, Moscow.
1. Being forced to illegally work in Russia (a dangerous situation) because BKC Moscow does not have the legal right to currently employ foreigners if their visas expire. BKC IH Moscow instructs its teachers to get "business visas," which are being used by BKC teachers to teach English in Russia, which is strictly against the law - business visas cannot be used to teach. Teachers foot the bill for the visa runs to get these visas, compensated only a fraction of what it costs to leave the country and come back with an illegal visa.
2. Lack of proper ADOS support for the teacher's curriculum.
3. Lies told by the teacher's ADOS.
4. Teachers being told by BKC-IH Moscow to lie to Russian police about where they work. (We will post more about this on an upcoming blog post.)
5. A vindictive director who stopped buying water for the office and shut down internet connections at the school for no reason.
6. Lies told to the teacher by Wayne Rimmer, the director of studies at BKC-IH Moscow.
7. Being forced out of his apartment after being illegally dismissed by BKC-IH Moscow a few weeks ago.
8. Contract violations, emails that were not responded to, and a threat from BKC-IH Moscow's Director of Studies about never being able to work for IH again.
Read the full blog here.
We will update this blog later to explain the illegal visa situation that BKC-IH Moscow is currently subjecting its teachers to, the verbal abuse that teachers are subjected to, and the contract violations and other laws that BKC Moscow is currently breaking.
We wish this gentleman the best of luck in his future pursuits and his new blog about the unethical and illegal practices of BKC-International House Moscow.
Showing posts with label BKC Moscow Administration. Show all posts
Showing posts with label BKC Moscow Administration. Show all posts
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Friday, April 2, 2010
Deconstructing a BKC-IH Moscow Job Advert
McDonald's is always hiring and so is BKC-IH Moscow. We shall take the opportunity to dissect the Teach English in Moscow job advertisement running on Eslcafe.com.
"BKC – International House is one of the most respected Language Schools in Russia. Being a member of the International House World Organization our School is regularly inspected by the International House representatives to ensure maintenance of educational and welfare standards".
"BKC – International House is one of the most respected Language Schools in Russia. Being a member of the International House World Organization our School is regularly inspected by the International House representatives to ensure maintenance of educational and welfare standards".
- BKC-International House Moscow is not a respected language school. One needs only to look at blogs by both teachers and students to recognize that this is hyperbole and nothing more.
- BKC-IH Moscow is not "regularly inspected" by International House. There is no evidence that International House pays Moscow any visits. BKC-IH Moscow pays a yearly fee to International House to use the IH name brand to lend more credibility to an otherwise unsupervised school engaged in unethical and illegal activities.
- Not factual. Many teachers come to this school with no experience whatsoever.
- Salary: $ 1040-1160 - The salary has been lowered once again from previous years.
- Length: 8 months and 3 weeks - Untrue: your contract is actually more like 10 months when your holiday time is counted.
- Benefits: end of the contract bonus –up to US $ 1000 - The contract states that you will be paid this bonus if they feel like giving it to you.
- Visa support - Not exactly. BKC-IH Moscow is having many problems with visas for teachers. Teachers absolutely cannot count on BKC Moscow to tell the truth about the visa situation or fairly reimburse the visa costs.
- Shared accommodation - True.
- Local transport paid by the school - True, though it comes in the form of reimbursement.
- Airfare subsidy - True, but the amount changes. You may be told the round-trip airfare reimbursement will be $1,000 and then later in the contract, it will be changed to less than that.
- Paid holidays - Not always true
- Health care - True but perhaps not what the average person believes to be "health care".
- 50% discount for Russian classes - True. After the discount, it is approximately $90 USD monthly.
- Hourly paid positions are available as well. The rates range from $ 22-31 per academic hour. True, but as an hourly employee you are at the mercy of the Timetable ladies who may not give you enough hours to survive.
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Balance, But Still Bad (A Review of BKC Moscow by Current BKC Teacher)
This is a guest post by one of our contributors: The contributor cross-posted this review on Dave's ESL Cafe.
The last two weeks of the contract cannot be taken as holidays because of legal hoops BKC jumps through to accommodate the end of your contract. In order to make sure the legally-recognized part of your salary and all can be received by you via bank deposit prior to the end of your contract, they have to legally say your employment actually finished two weeks (or so) earlier than on the contract you signed. There's a form you sign for this when you get the visa manager's signature on your BKC leaving form.
That said, what's the thing about terminating early and having to submit your passport two weeks before your early departure date? They basically issue you a visa that's good until the day you leave (or very shortly thereafter). This is blatantly illegal. They do this so as to insure you don't go and work for any one else because your visa IS NOT tied to an employer. Withholding pay unless you give them your passport is illegal in so many ways I haven't bothered to count.
Registration is legit and if you stay for more than one contract it may even display the address of the apartment where you actually stay as opposed to the hostel at Tverskaya where most of us have been registered at one time or other, no doubt.
The number of paid vacation days does suck for global EFL standards. Most of the days are taken up by national holidays. As for February 23rd, that was a holiday. Thing is, BKC decided the 22nd would also be a holiday, hence making up for it the Saturday the 27th.
Making up for holidays, yeah, that's just a way for BKC to get you to work more. Many cultures around the world do this and it's just a matter of the teacher being aware of this and negotiating otherwise.
Case: I was stiffed on interviews because BKC decided to switch it to a stand-by session last-second so I wasn't paid anything extra as the standby was part of my base contract hours.
As for contracts, the only valid ones are those written in Russian. Good luck getting one like that from BKC because the Russian income tax rate is insane, plus there are other bureaucratic concerns (most of which I don't know). That's why many teachers can't find legal grounds to sue BKC, although BKC is currently in the midst of a legal battle with a former teacher on the concerning the grounds of dismissal. I'm rooting for the teacher on this one regardless of the grounds of the case just because of the bad things BKC has done (otherwise my view would be really different and this would be a glowing email, although in a non-nuclear way).
As for postal addresses, most teachers send their stuff to central office for various reasons - and it's reliable. What happens is, the Russian postal system will deliver it to a specified postal mailbox or keep parcel notices on-hand until you go there and ask if anything is there. So, BKC has a runner who goes there once a week (or so) and collects everything with BKC in the address. Voila. That's not BKC, that's just the postal system. I haven't tried DHL, but that may result in direct - and therefore speedier - delivery.
The airfare re-imbursement totally sucks, even with 2010 increases (which are a bad joke IMO). I have no idea how this is calculated, but I know tax issues are involved. That said, BKC can make it what it wants, so....
Medical coverage is actually ok for non-serious stuff. I've had a house call and I've had to visit the hospital once. Say what you want about the doctors, but the house call was free and the hospital visit re-imbursed.
There have been issues with teachers who became seriously ill and needed surgery. Then BKC did the absolutely disgusting thing of renegging and forcing them for forgo so much just to stay in-country to get it done. You don't kick someone when they're down, but that's not a Russian axiom. The Russian one is kick them until they can't get back up. Seeing bar fights or street fights anywhere will make it clear that it's different in Russia.
What, then, about accommodation? Dealing with Russians in your building is not something BKC can control, but choosing neighborhoods is. Loud neighbours is one thing, gangs around the buildings that accost you is another. Such is life.
While the teacher is responsible for cleanliness as well as anything they break, BKC is responsible for everything else (but not lightbulbs and matches and garbage bags and simple stuff). That said, I was docked for replacing door knobs, shower knobs, taps/faucets, oven/stove knobs, etc. It took me and my roommate two weeks to get a bathroom door lock replaced. This was a particular problem because the door would remain open without it. I literally had to email the accommodation manager that demanding a change in sexual orientation to save on a door lock was too much to ask. Only then was a door lock installed.
I honestly don't know if they wait for kicks or if it's just a test of patience. That said, I know many admin on the 3rd floor are caught between a rock and a hard place. Bribery, ass-kissing, and gift-giving seem to have worked well for other teachers, but only generally so.
My family builds their own homes. I never had the heart to tell this to the accommodation manager because then I would have gone on and on at all the shoddy things in the apartment I occupied while at BKC.
As for wanting teachers to stay and cover classes, that's to insure continuity of classes. That's a little BS considering the attitude Russian students have toward "their teacher" versus others. Plus, BKC is a company and continued classes mean money is continually coming in. This is an arguable point, but whatever, covers are a part of TEFL-life.
If there's ever an unresolvable issue between yourself and your mentor/ADOS, then you're passed onto the DOS, Mr. (or is it now Dr.?) Rimmer. He knows his stuff when it comes to the English language, but he has a nasty tendency to put teachers into one of four categories. You're either a criminal, sexually deranged, trying to escape something, or are genuinely meant to be a teacher.
Then there's the owner, Mr. Bondarev. Former scientist who grew his business up from the mean streets of Moscow during the rough `90s. Drives a nice car, owns BKC country, has property in other countries, and is engaged on a sizeable personal project involving frequent travel to one country in Asia I will not name. BKC is a cash cow, so I'm truly stumped as to why BKC is engaged in actions that will see the company run into the ground.
So BKC has to jump through hoops. Here's how they pass it onto us.
The last two weeks of the contract cannot be taken as holidays because of legal hoops BKC jumps through to accommodate the end of your contract. In order to make sure the legally-recognized part of your salary and all can be received by you via bank deposit prior to the end of your contract, they have to legally say your employment actually finished two weeks (or so) earlier than on the contract you signed. There's a form you sign for this when you get the visa manager's signature on your BKC leaving form.
That said, what's the thing about terminating early and having to submit your passport two weeks before your early departure date? They basically issue you a visa that's good until the day you leave (or very shortly thereafter). This is blatantly illegal. They do this so as to insure you don't go and work for any one else because your visa IS NOT tied to an employer. Withholding pay unless you give them your passport is illegal in so many ways I haven't bothered to count.
Registration is legit and if you stay for more than one contract it may even display the address of the apartment where you actually stay as opposed to the hostel at Tverskaya where most of us have been registered at one time or other, no doubt.
The number of paid vacation days does suck for global EFL standards. Most of the days are taken up by national holidays. As for February 23rd, that was a holiday. Thing is, BKC decided the 22nd would also be a holiday, hence making up for it the Saturday the 27th.
Making up for holidays, yeah, that's just a way for BKC to get you to work more. Many cultures around the world do this and it's just a matter of the teacher being aware of this and negotiating otherwise.
Policies and contracts are different according to Russian law. Contracts are set in stone and require both parties to agree to any changes. Policies must be written and physically given to all employees in a hardcopy form. The catch? The company has the legal right to change policies whenever they want unilaterally. Any extra bonuses like non-standby placement tests that aren't written in the contract are literally at the company's discretion as to whether or not they're paid and that is legal in Russia.
Case: I was stiffed on interviews because BKC decided to switch it to a stand-by session last-second so I wasn't paid anything extra as the standby was part of my base contract hours.
As for contracts, the only valid ones are those written in Russian. Good luck getting one like that from BKC because the Russian income tax rate is insane, plus there are other bureaucratic concerns (most of which I don't know). That's why many teachers can't find legal grounds to sue BKC, although BKC is currently in the midst of a legal battle with a former teacher on the concerning the grounds of dismissal. I'm rooting for the teacher on this one regardless of the grounds of the case just because of the bad things BKC has done (otherwise my view would be really different and this would be a glowing email, although in a non-nuclear way).
As for postal addresses, most teachers send their stuff to central office for various reasons - and it's reliable. What happens is, the Russian postal system will deliver it to a specified postal mailbox or keep parcel notices on-hand until you go there and ask if anything is there. So, BKC has a runner who goes there once a week (or so) and collects everything with BKC in the address. Voila. That's not BKC, that's just the postal system. I haven't tried DHL, but that may result in direct - and therefore speedier - delivery.
The airfare re-imbursement totally sucks, even with 2010 increases (which are a bad joke IMO). I have no idea how this is calculated, but I know tax issues are involved. That said, BKC can make it what it wants, so....
Medical coverage is actually ok for non-serious stuff. I've had a house call and I've had to visit the hospital once. Say what you want about the doctors, but the house call was free and the hospital visit re-imbursed.
There have been issues with teachers who became seriously ill and needed surgery. Then BKC did the absolutely disgusting thing of renegging and forcing them for forgo so much just to stay in-country to get it done. You don't kick someone when they're down, but that's not a Russian axiom. The Russian one is kick them until they can't get back up. Seeing bar fights or street fights anywhere will make it clear that it's different in Russia.
What, then, about accommodation? Dealing with Russians in your building is not something BKC can control, but choosing neighborhoods is. Loud neighbours is one thing, gangs around the buildings that accost you is another. Such is life.
While the teacher is responsible for cleanliness as well as anything they break, BKC is responsible for everything else (but not lightbulbs and matches and garbage bags and simple stuff). That said, I was docked for replacing door knobs, shower knobs, taps/faucets, oven/stove knobs, etc. It took me and my roommate two weeks to get a bathroom door lock replaced. This was a particular problem because the door would remain open without it. I literally had to email the accommodation manager that demanding a change in sexual orientation to save on a door lock was too much to ask. Only then was a door lock installed.
I honestly don't know if they wait for kicks or if it's just a test of patience. That said, I know many admin on the 3rd floor are caught between a rock and a hard place. Bribery, ass-kissing, and gift-giving seem to have worked well for other teachers, but only generally so.
My family builds their own homes. I never had the heart to tell this to the accommodation manager because then I would have gone on and on at all the shoddy things in the apartment I occupied while at BKC.
Finance on 3rd floor can be rude when they reject any costs that aren't covered under BKC's ever-changing policies. "What you do with your money is your business." I hated that. In all honesty, I wonder if they receive any bonus, commission, or company kickback for shaving off this and that teacher-based expenditure. I don't know if that happens, but I wouldn't put it past BKC and admin.
As for wanting teachers to stay and cover classes, that's to insure continuity of classes. That's a little BS considering the attitude Russian students have toward "their teacher" versus others. Plus, BKC is a company and continued classes mean money is continually coming in. This is an arguable point, but whatever, covers are a part of TEFL-life.
If there's ever an unresolvable issue between yourself and your mentor/ADOS, then you're passed onto the DOS, Mr. (or is it now Dr.?) Rimmer. He knows his stuff when it comes to the English language, but he has a nasty tendency to put teachers into one of four categories. You're either a criminal, sexually deranged, trying to escape something, or are genuinely meant to be a teacher.
Then there's the owner, Mr. Bondarev. Former scientist who grew his business up from the mean streets of Moscow during the rough `90s. Drives a nice car, owns BKC country, has property in other countries, and is engaged on a sizeable personal project involving frequent travel to one country in Asia I will not name. BKC is a cash cow, so I'm truly stumped as to why BKC is engaged in actions that will see the company run into the ground.
Saturday, March 6, 2010
A Current BKC Moscow Teacher Proves How Stupid BKC Recruitment Is
We deliberated before deciding to publish the following text from a current BKC Moscow teacher's blog. It reveals once again the type of teacher that BKC Moscow attracts. We ultimately decided to publish this stupid teacher's writings because she wrote and used real names of some people we know. She depicts various teachers as drunks and idiots. We think she's a vacuous bore. Read the blog here.
"...my teaching position here is precarious, for various reasons including visa technicalities, Russia’s instability and shady dealings (the company that was supposed to extend my work visa has somehow or another “vanished”…) and the fact that I am, in fact, kind of a lousy teacher. I’m much more interested in getting my students to teach me Russian terms than in actually doing my job ...
So I went back to sleep for three hours, blowing off my class without telling anyone. Fortunately, I don’t think my supervisors found out, and I am still safe.
It kind of sounds like after paying for a new AIDS test, train fare, hostels, and the actual consulate fee, I’ll be the one paying BKC to work for them. That ain’t cool, and I’m considering leaving. “I don’t have a choice,” [he] told me, and he’s been here for years, so he should know, “But you might want to think about jumping ship.” And… ehhhn, I’m thinking about it.
I got an email from my supervisor the other day, the one who failed me on both of my observation lessons, giving a kindly warning that it’s against my contract to go over his head and reschedule classes without getting his permission first, and will I please not do it again?
So, I ended up sleeping in and missing my class anyway… curses. Maybe nobody noticed.
So, my supervisor for InCompany, the section where I “missed” all of my classes except for two through all of December, was pretty pissed off at me for turning in an almost blank register. He took me aside and gave me a very British talking-to, but I could hear the suppressed rage throbbing in his voice. ”Make sure you fill in your register for all your classes, and let us know if the students don’t show up, ‘kay?” he said with this really tense, I-will-murder-you smile.
BKC has emailed to say that they have a way to get me my passport back by tomorrow, so I can come back to Moscow post-haste to work for them. Rrrrgh, no way, fuck you BKC, you forced me to go on holiday, and on holiday I shall remain!
We are speechless. We are united in our stand against the evil corporation and yet we are also appalled at this "teacher" and her behavior. Why has she not been fired? We personally know a few teachers who were fired and the sole reason for the firings was that the teachers refused to kiss ass or give bribes.
"...my teaching position here is precarious, for various reasons including visa technicalities, Russia’s instability and shady dealings (the company that was supposed to extend my work visa has somehow or another “vanished”…) and the fact that I am, in fact, kind of a lousy teacher. I’m much more interested in getting my students to teach me Russian terms than in actually doing my job ...
So I went back to sleep for three hours, blowing off my class without telling anyone. Fortunately, I don’t think my supervisors found out, and I am still safe.
It kind of sounds like after paying for a new AIDS test, train fare, hostels, and the actual consulate fee, I’ll be the one paying BKC to work for them. That ain’t cool, and I’m considering leaving. “I don’t have a choice,” [he] told me, and he’s been here for years, so he should know, “But you might want to think about jumping ship.” And… ehhhn, I’m thinking about it.
I got an email from my supervisor the other day, the one who failed me on both of my observation lessons, giving a kindly warning that it’s against my contract to go over his head and reschedule classes without getting his permission first, and will I please not do it again?
So, I ended up sleeping in and missing my class anyway… curses. Maybe nobody noticed.
So, my supervisor for InCompany, the section where I “missed” all of my classes except for two through all of December, was pretty pissed off at me for turning in an almost blank register. He took me aside and gave me a very British talking-to, but I could hear the suppressed rage throbbing in his voice. ”Make sure you fill in your register for all your classes, and let us know if the students don’t show up, ‘kay?” he said with this really tense, I-will-murder-you smile.
BKC has emailed to say that they have a way to get me my passport back by tomorrow, so I can come back to Moscow post-haste to work for them. Rrrrgh, no way, fuck you BKC, you forced me to go on holiday, and on holiday I shall remain!
We are speechless. We are united in our stand against the evil corporation and yet we are also appalled at this "teacher" and her behavior. Why has she not been fired? We personally know a few teachers who were fired and the sole reason for the firings was that the teachers refused to kiss ass or give bribes.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Write for BKC Moscow and Make Big Money!
That is a lie. You will write for BKC Moscow and you will earn no money.
BKC Moscow is currently propositioning teachers to write for their "teacher" website, which has been defunct since oh, about 2002.
Since BKC Moscow has such bad press from teacher blogs, not to mention the almighty ESLCafe.com, and even a mainstream magazine, they must be thinking - oh we have to get some good stories up on this Internet thing all the kids are talking about.
As our intrepid team wades through the World Wide Web (as it was known back in the day), we browsed through the old BKC Moscow teacher's site and found this interesting article written by a guy none of us recognizes.
From his musings on the article, we gather that this young man is likely whoring it up in some third world country, or otherwise financing his sex-tours.
This BKC Moscow teacher wrote about - and BKC Moscow published - the following:
And then, after you do that, read between the lines. This is what BKC Moscow is using to ENTICE young teachers to come work for their corrupt school.. All the sex you want! Clubs! Discos! Vodka! More sex! Bisexual, trisexual, threesomes, whatever you want! Sightseeing! Look at all the buildings!
This guy didn't write much about what it was like to be an actual teacher. The article was filled with typos and grammatical errors. We are guessing that he was wasted most of the time and couldn't be bothered to do much teaching, not when his main goal seems to be getting into every club in Moscow and fucking as many girls as possible.
Read even further into it and you will see that this teacher was thoroughly convinced, as was BKC Moscow, that this article was appropriate and in fact welcomed by the ex-pat teaching community.
Become a teacher and get lots of sex and booze and police stops and pay a bunch of bribes. Oh yes and teach once in awhile. That basically sums up BKC Moscow's recruiting tools.
God bless those fools.
BKC Moscow is currently propositioning teachers to write for their "teacher" website, which has been defunct since oh, about 2002.
Since BKC Moscow has such bad press from teacher blogs, not to mention the almighty ESLCafe.com, and even a mainstream magazine, they must be thinking - oh we have to get some good stories up on this Internet thing all the kids are talking about.
As our intrepid team wades through the World Wide Web (as it was known back in the day), we browsed through the old BKC Moscow teacher's site and found this interesting article written by a guy none of us recognizes.
From his musings on the article, we gather that this young man is likely whoring it up in some third world country, or otherwise financing his sex-tours.
This BKC Moscow teacher wrote about - and BKC Moscow published - the following:
- Threatening stops by the Russian police. One incident in which the Russian police put his hand on his gun to intimidate the teacher.
- Boasting about his sexual escapades. "My second visit saw me being chatted up by a young girl who was bi-sexual. Sadly nothing exciting came of this meeting. My third visit (yes, I really like this place!) saw be being invited onto the bar come stage by a beautiful blonde and leggy stripper who undress herself, and then undressed me. Completely. Photographic evidence is available at www.HungyDuck.com if your are prepared to pay the fee for viewing."
- This guy also notes that he was accused of sexual harassment which was of course denied by him and laughed off by the geniuses at BKC Moscow.
- Claimed that although the wages from BKC Moscow were "meant" to indicate a middle-class lifestyle, he could not afford a washing machine and thus washed is clothes in the tub.
And then, after you do that, read between the lines. This is what BKC Moscow is using to ENTICE young teachers to come work for their corrupt school.. All the sex you want! Clubs! Discos! Vodka! More sex! Bisexual, trisexual, threesomes, whatever you want! Sightseeing! Look at all the buildings!
This guy didn't write much about what it was like to be an actual teacher. The article was filled with typos and grammatical errors. We are guessing that he was wasted most of the time and couldn't be bothered to do much teaching, not when his main goal seems to be getting into every club in Moscow and fucking as many girls as possible.
Read even further into it and you will see that this teacher was thoroughly convinced, as was BKC Moscow, that this article was appropriate and in fact welcomed by the ex-pat teaching community.
Become a teacher and get lots of sex and booze and police stops and pay a bunch of bribes. Oh yes and teach once in awhile. That basically sums up BKC Moscow's recruiting tools.
God bless those fools.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
When a BKC Moscow Holiday Means You Have to Work on Saturday, Instead
If you are currently one of the oppressed teachers at the evil organization, BKC-International House Moscow, you know what happened last week is a grotesque violation of your contract and also law, not to mention plain common sense and dignity.
If you are not (yet) an oppressed teacher of the fascist regime, BKC-IH Moscow, then you may not know:
On February 23, there is a Russian National Holiday that goes by several names. Some call it Defender of the Fatherland Day, Men's Day, and Defender of the Motherland's Day.
No BKC classes were held that day, but in a cunning move, BKC ordered teachers to work the following Saturday to make up for it.
Thus, BKC Moscow didn't give anyone a holiday at all, did it?
Current teachers coined it "Monterday," which happens your Saturday suddenly becomes Monday instead because you haven't got any holiday at all.
We call bullshit on this. We call this filthy fucking cocksucking sickening revolting bullshit on this bogus BKC-IH Moscow practice. Bastard fuckers!
If you are not (yet) an oppressed teacher of the fascist regime, BKC-IH Moscow, then you may not know:
On February 23, there is a Russian National Holiday that goes by several names. Some call it Defender of the Fatherland Day, Men's Day, and Defender of the Motherland's Day.
No BKC classes were held that day, but in a cunning move, BKC ordered teachers to work the following Saturday to make up for it.
Thus, BKC Moscow didn't give anyone a holiday at all, did it?
Current teachers coined it "Monterday," which happens your Saturday suddenly becomes Monday instead because you haven't got any holiday at all.
We call bullshit on this. We call this filthy fucking cocksucking sickening revolting bullshit on this bogus BKC-IH Moscow practice. Bastard fuckers!
Monday, February 22, 2010
BKC Teacher SUES BKC International House Moscow
We have confirmed that the lady we spoke of in our last post, Horror Story: the Truth About BKC Moscow is, without a doubt, SUING BKC IH MOSCOW.
An advocate retained by this teacher filed a motion for the lawsuit at the Basmanniy district court of Moscow last Thursday, February 18, 2010.
The lawsuit is for illegal dismissal.
Many of us grumble about suing BKC Moscow. Some of us threaten on occasion to sue Lingua.ru, BKC's umbrella company. But to our knowledge, this is the first time that a teacher put her money where her mouth is and got herself a lawyer and took them to court.
BKC Moscow breaks many laws - we all know this. They dodge taxes, tear up contracts, take hours away from hourly teachers who need them, and give hours instead to teachers who are already working more than 30 hours a week. They might be breaking the law by not giving us free flats - it only appears that they give us free flats, when, in fact, our payslips show that this is deducted out of our real salaries.
We are not mentioning the name of the teacher because it is our policy to not name any teachers at all, even ones who have put themselves out there in terms of being disgruntled.
We wish this lady the best of luck with her lawsuit against BKC Moscow.
An advocate retained by this teacher filed a motion for the lawsuit at the Basmanniy district court of Moscow last Thursday, February 18, 2010.
The lawsuit is for illegal dismissal.
Many of us grumble about suing BKC Moscow. Some of us threaten on occasion to sue Lingua.ru, BKC's umbrella company. But to our knowledge, this is the first time that a teacher put her money where her mouth is and got herself a lawyer and took them to court.
BKC Moscow breaks many laws - we all know this. They dodge taxes, tear up contracts, take hours away from hourly teachers who need them, and give hours instead to teachers who are already working more than 30 hours a week. They might be breaking the law by not giving us free flats - it only appears that they give us free flats, when, in fact, our payslips show that this is deducted out of our real salaries.
We are not mentioning the name of the teacher because it is our policy to not name any teachers at all, even ones who have put themselves out there in terms of being disgruntled.
We wish this lady the best of luck with her lawsuit against BKC Moscow.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
BKC Moscow Lies
We cannot keep tally of how many lies we have been told since we have been here. This is an attempt.
The Lies That We Have Been Told by BKC Moscow Boro Ladies
Lie #1 - "We can't sign that. You have to wait for Nastia to sign it."
And so we wait for Nastia to return. When she does not return, and one of us was still standing in the 3rd office, finally, one of the Nastias decided to sign it. "It" was a piece of paper in a folder stapled to the wall, accessible to everyone.
Lie #2: "You have to get your bank card from the bank. We do not posses any teacher bank cards."
One of us went to get our bank card and was told quite rudely the above statement. After the rest of us explained to her that Boro had ALL of our bank cards, she phoned them and asked why she needed to go to a Russian bank where no one speaks English to retrieve her bank card when other teachers have picked theirs up at Boro. She was told she must pick up her bank card at the bank. No exceptions.
(She was on the BKC Moscow Hit List)
Lie #3: "You will be paid for holidays."
No. We will not. Our contract is extended.
Lie #4: "I don't have the phone number of your internet company. You will have to wait for Anna."
Our brave contributor continued to demand the phone number, and eventually, with a long sigh and complaints from the Boro lady, the phone number of the internet company was retrieved from Anna's desk.
Lie #5: "We are here to help you."
As we have explained for months, BKC Moscow is there to help themselves and no one else. The Boro ladies are liars and very lazy. There is a way to get them to do what you ask. You will continue to be lied to, but you may receive what you need.
We will discuss the bribes that are accepted by the Evil Queen and the Lazy Lying Boro Ladies of BKC Moscow in a future post.
The Lies That We Have Been Told by BKC Moscow Boro Ladies
Lie #1 - "We can't sign that. You have to wait for Nastia to sign it."
And so we wait for Nastia to return. When she does not return, and one of us was still standing in the 3rd office, finally, one of the Nastias decided to sign it. "It" was a piece of paper in a folder stapled to the wall, accessible to everyone.
Lie #2: "You have to get your bank card from the bank. We do not posses any teacher bank cards."
One of us went to get our bank card and was told quite rudely the above statement. After the rest of us explained to her that Boro had ALL of our bank cards, she phoned them and asked why she needed to go to a Russian bank where no one speaks English to retrieve her bank card when other teachers have picked theirs up at Boro. She was told she must pick up her bank card at the bank. No exceptions.
(She was on the BKC Moscow Hit List)
Lie #3: "You will be paid for holidays."
No. We will not. Our contract is extended.
Lie #4: "I don't have the phone number of your internet company. You will have to wait for Anna."
Our brave contributor continued to demand the phone number, and eventually, with a long sigh and complaints from the Boro lady, the phone number of the internet company was retrieved from Anna's desk.
Lie #5: "We are here to help you."
As we have explained for months, BKC Moscow is there to help themselves and no one else. The Boro ladies are liars and very lazy. There is a way to get them to do what you ask. You will continue to be lied to, but you may receive what you need.
We will discuss the bribes that are accepted by the Evil Queen and the Lazy Lying Boro Ladies of BKC Moscow in a future post.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
BKC Moscow Accommodation Strikes Again
One of our anonymous contributors writes on BKC Moscow flats. One of many teachers on the "BKC Moscow Hit List"
After arriving in Moscow, I was taken to my apartment by a member of the BKC Moscow staff. It was located at the end of the metro line, and in an area I was later told by veteran teachers was one of the worst parts of the city. The staff member kindly walked me around the area. She informed me that she lived nearby. She then told me to be very careful because there is not a lot of foot traffic around and that it is not safe. She told me to NEVER walk by myself when it is dark outside. I told her that I would have to do that as my teaching schedule had me working into the evening hours, and she reiterated that I should be very, very careful.
Even as we were walking in broad daylight, we were followed by several men and she told me not to speak to them and to BE CAREFUL. The nights I did walk home by myself, I felt very unsettled. There were no sidewalk lights and I could barely see two feet in front of me. In the wooded areas surrounding the sidewalks, I could hear drunk men shouting and bottles clanking. I felt extremely vulnerable and unsafe. I knew that I could not live like this for a long period of time.
The apartment itself was (apparently) a typical Soviet-style flat that left much to be desired. It was also filthy. The staff member even washed her hands after touching something and made a remark about the lack of cleanliness. Only two lights functioned when I moved in and I was left living in darkness for several days until the repairman could come.
My first week was spent feeling scared, disgusted and isolated.
I called the BKC accommodation manager and begged to be moved to a new apartment. She gave me one option, which I gladly took. I was moved to a more central location and much nicer, cleaner apartment.
BUT, I was sent to live with an older woman that BKC had never been able to successfully place a flatmate with. This woman had lived in that apartment for years, harassing anyone placed with her until that person asked to be moved. She successfully did this for over three years and was successful time and time again without BKC Moscow accommodation managers stepping in.
Immediately upon meeting me, I was given a lecture. I was told we would not be friends. I was shown what I could use and not use in the apartment. I was given many rules which she expected to be followed. I did not want to move back to the first apartment, so I decided to try to live in peace with her and keep to myself.
This did not work.
- She banged on my bedroom door almost nightly to yell at me about anything she could think of.
- She monitored my actions in the apartment and posted a cleaning schedule that she wanted me to sign and date.
- She removed my food items from the refrigerator because she did not want to share it with me and told me to "be creative" as to how to keep my food cold.
- She told me if I had a problem with that, to contact accommodation. I did.
Finally, we were both requested to meet with the accommodation managers to try to work out our problems. I showed up, but my flatmate did not. We received an email the next day saying that we needed to make a compromise or else we would both be moved. We decided to give it another chance. Our compromise lasted about three weeks before I was locked out of the apartment at night. She had imposed a curfew on me, and I broke it.
The next day, I contacted BKC accommodation again and said that it was not working out and that something had to change.
My punishment for not getting along with this woman was to be moved to another apartment which required a 90-minute commute to work, which goes against BKC Moscow's "guarantee" that no commute would be longer than 1 hour. After months of struggling with accommodation issues, I decided to terminate my contract.
After arriving in Moscow, I was taken to my apartment by a member of the BKC Moscow staff. It was located at the end of the metro line, and in an area I was later told by veteran teachers was one of the worst parts of the city. The staff member kindly walked me around the area. She informed me that she lived nearby. She then told me to be very careful because there is not a lot of foot traffic around and that it is not safe. She told me to NEVER walk by myself when it is dark outside. I told her that I would have to do that as my teaching schedule had me working into the evening hours, and she reiterated that I should be very, very careful.
Even as we were walking in broad daylight, we were followed by several men and she told me not to speak to them and to BE CAREFUL. The nights I did walk home by myself, I felt very unsettled. There were no sidewalk lights and I could barely see two feet in front of me. In the wooded areas surrounding the sidewalks, I could hear drunk men shouting and bottles clanking. I felt extremely vulnerable and unsafe. I knew that I could not live like this for a long period of time.
The apartment itself was (apparently) a typical Soviet-style flat that left much to be desired. It was also filthy. The staff member even washed her hands after touching something and made a remark about the lack of cleanliness. Only two lights functioned when I moved in and I was left living in darkness for several days until the repairman could come.
My first week was spent feeling scared, disgusted and isolated.
I called the BKC accommodation manager and begged to be moved to a new apartment. She gave me one option, which I gladly took. I was moved to a more central location and much nicer, cleaner apartment.
BUT, I was sent to live with an older woman that BKC had never been able to successfully place a flatmate with. This woman had lived in that apartment for years, harassing anyone placed with her until that person asked to be moved. She successfully did this for over three years and was successful time and time again without BKC Moscow accommodation managers stepping in.
Immediately upon meeting me, I was given a lecture. I was told we would not be friends. I was shown what I could use and not use in the apartment. I was given many rules which she expected to be followed. I did not want to move back to the first apartment, so I decided to try to live in peace with her and keep to myself.
This did not work.
- She banged on my bedroom door almost nightly to yell at me about anything she could think of.
- She monitored my actions in the apartment and posted a cleaning schedule that she wanted me to sign and date.
- She removed my food items from the refrigerator because she did not want to share it with me and told me to "be creative" as to how to keep my food cold.
- She told me if I had a problem with that, to contact accommodation. I did.
Finally, we were both requested to meet with the accommodation managers to try to work out our problems. I showed up, but my flatmate did not. We received an email the next day saying that we needed to make a compromise or else we would both be moved. We decided to give it another chance. Our compromise lasted about three weeks before I was locked out of the apartment at night. She had imposed a curfew on me, and I broke it.
The next day, I contacted BKC accommodation again and said that it was not working out and that something had to change.
My punishment for not getting along with this woman was to be moved to another apartment which required a 90-minute commute to work, which goes against BKC Moscow's "guarantee" that no commute would be longer than 1 hour. After months of struggling with accommodation issues, I decided to terminate my contract.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Beauties from BKC Moscow Timetabling
One of our contributors just dug up some old emails from BKC Moscow. We will call this teacher "John Smith".
Email From John Smith Re: BKC Moscow
Here's some fun emails from May 2008.
Look at these beauties:
At the time, THERE WERE NO HOURS AVAILABLE. I had what I could get. I pleaded for weekend hours (which I KNEW there were) and they stalled. Of course I wanted hours.
Dear John Smith!
The Recruitment Department is concerned about your attitude to work. We would like to talk about it. Please, come to the central office (Boro) on Monday or Tuesday (May, 12-13) at any convenient time.
Please, let us know what time you will be here.
Best regards,
"Hog-Ola"
Timetable Coordinator
Explanation From the BKC Moscow Teacher
They were dragging their feet to keep me from getting a weekend class. I said this: I would LOVE to teach any class in the morning, day, evening, or weekend, but please, please, please, just not Monday/Wednesday evening. There are weekends and day classes available, please let me take these.
NO, you MUST take the Monday/Wednesday evening class. This created friction.
Next Email From BKC Moscow - How Dare You Question Us? We'll Call The Authorities!
Dear John Smith,
I just want to infrom you that I've started examination of how many hours hourly-paid teachers with BKC visas have. I was told by timetabling department that after one of your classes finishes on the 14th of May you will have only 14 hours per week. Please let me know if you want to take some new classes to have 20 teaching hours.
In case you refuse to take classes offered by timetabling I will need to
shorten your visa and send official letter to the Federal Security Service and to the Passport and Visa department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to inform them about stopping your contract with BKC. This letter will conduce to automatic cancellation of your visa.
Hope to hear from you soon, or you may just contact timetabling to find out
whether they have some classes for you.
Have a good day!
What John Smith Wrote Us
By the way, contacting the Federal Security Service regarding a work contract.... impossible. The FSB doesn't deal with this. Empty threats. And a visa can't be revoked unless it is stamped and taken away/out of the passport.
Warning to all BKC Moscow teachers: Don't give them your passport after they give you your visa. Your visa cannot be revoked unless it is physically presented to the migration officials.
Email From John Smith Re: BKC Moscow
Here's some fun emails from May 2008.
Look at these beauties:
At the time, THERE WERE NO HOURS AVAILABLE. I had what I could get. I pleaded for weekend hours (which I KNEW there were) and they stalled. Of course I wanted hours.
Dear John Smith!
The Recruitment Department is concerned about your attitude to work. We would like to talk about it. Please, come to the central office (Boro) on Monday or Tuesday (May, 12-13) at any convenient time.
Please, let us know what time you will be here.
Best regards,
"Hog-Ola"
Timetable Coordinator
Explanation From the BKC Moscow Teacher
They were dragging their feet to keep me from getting a weekend class. I said this: I would LOVE to teach any class in the morning, day, evening, or weekend, but please, please, please, just not Monday/Wednesday evening. There are weekends and day classes available, please let me take these.
NO, you MUST take the Monday/Wednesday evening class. This created friction.
Next Email From BKC Moscow - How Dare You Question Us? We'll Call The Authorities!
Dear John Smith,
I just want to infrom you that I've started examination of how many hours hourly-paid teachers with BKC visas have. I was told by timetabling department that after one of your classes finishes on the 14th of May you will have only 14 hours per week. Please let me know if you want to take some new classes to have 20 teaching hours.
In case you refuse to take classes offered by timetabling I will need to
shorten your visa and send official letter to the Federal Security Service and to the Passport and Visa department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to inform them about stopping your contract with BKC. This letter will conduce to automatic cancellation of your visa.
Hope to hear from you soon, or you may just contact timetabling to find out
whether they have some classes for you.
Have a good day!
What John Smith Wrote Us
By the way, contacting the Federal Security Service regarding a work contract.... impossible. The FSB doesn't deal with this. Empty threats. And a visa can't be revoked unless it is stamped and taken away/out of the passport.
Warning to all BKC Moscow teachers: Don't give them your passport after they give you your visa. Your visa cannot be revoked unless it is physically presented to the migration officials.
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
BKC Moscow Time Tabling - The Way They Treat BKC Teachers
This post has been removed per request of teacher. Unfortunately we could not publish the teacher's comments because they included the teacher's name. Reminder -- when you comment on this blog, do not leave your real name if you are a BKC teacher.
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
BKC Moscow Teachers! You Must Bow to the Evil Queen. Bow to the Students!
Most of you are young and eager. We were just like you once. We were sold the dream, only to see it die.
This is BKC Moscow's way of telling you that you must do exactly as the students tell you. They are in charge of you, not the other way of them. Fail to submit will result in damage. Do exactly as the students tell you. If it is impossible to do so, you still must do it. You have no authority. That is why we have overheard some of you, at Boro, telling the other rookies that your adult students have ousted you from your classes.
You are, quite simply, a liability to BKC International House Moscow. The students are an asset.
From the BKC Moscow Weekly News:
STUDENT FEEDBACK FORM
Dear teachers,
In order to increase student retention by providing classes students are happy with, we have introduced a student feedback form. The form is to be given to your adult students with the progress/end of level test, and will let you know what the learners think about the content and level of difficulty of the materials you use, what they want more/ less of, what they think about the course book etc. If you’ve already done the first progress test it’s still a good idea to give the students the feedback form, to see what they think about the course.
The forms are to be given by the teacher to the students, then collected by the teacher. After you look at them and decide how to adapt your classes to the students’ feedback, pass the forms to the ADOS of your school.
Please tell your students why you are giving them these forms (to find out how to better adapt the lessons to what they want) and ask them to be honest in their feedback.
Ask your LO/ ADOS for a copy of the form or download it from the Teachers’ Forum.
Thank you.
No, thank YOU, BKC. Thank you for entrusting us to not do our jobs correctly.
This is BKC Moscow's way of telling you that you must do exactly as the students tell you. They are in charge of you, not the other way of them. Fail to submit will result in damage. Do exactly as the students tell you. If it is impossible to do so, you still must do it. You have no authority. That is why we have overheard some of you, at Boro, telling the other rookies that your adult students have ousted you from your classes.
You are, quite simply, a liability to BKC International House Moscow. The students are an asset.
From the BKC Moscow Weekly News:
STUDENT FEEDBACK FORM
Dear teachers,
In order to increase student retention by providing classes students are happy with, we have introduced a student feedback form. The form is to be given to your adult students with the progress/end of level test, and will let you know what the learners think about the content and level of difficulty of the materials you use, what they want more/ less of, what they think about the course book etc. If you’ve already done the first progress test it’s still a good idea to give the students the feedback form, to see what they think about the course.
The forms are to be given by the teacher to the students, then collected by the teacher. After you look at them and decide how to adapt your classes to the students’ feedback, pass the forms to the ADOS of your school.
Please tell your students why you are giving them these forms (to find out how to better adapt the lessons to what they want) and ask them to be honest in their feedback.
Ask your LO/ ADOS for a copy of the form or download it from the Teachers’ Forum.
Thank you.
No, thank YOU, BKC. Thank you for entrusting us to not do our jobs correctly.
Monday, December 7, 2009
Actual Email from a BKC Moscow ADOS Telling You That You Must Help BKC Make More Money
When you go on holiday, you will receive an email like this from your BKC Moscow ADOS. This comes from an actual email sent to a teacher:
I see that you're having some time off. In the past, we've had students who ask for a break in lessons when they know that their teacher is going to be on holiday, which is a bit of a nuisance for the school and loses us money. If you tell your students that you will be away, explain that they will have a cover teacher, and encourage them to come for lessons as normal during your holiday.
We are not sure why it is our responsibility for BKC to not lose money, since they pay us poverty salaries.
I see that you're having some time off. In the past, we've had students who ask for a break in lessons when they know that their teacher is going to be on holiday, which is a bit of a nuisance for the school and loses us money. If you tell your students that you will be away, explain that they will have a cover teacher, and encourage them to come for lessons as normal during your holiday.
We are not sure why it is our responsibility for BKC to not lose money, since they pay us poverty salaries.
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Hello, Fresh Meat - We Mean, BKC Moscow Teachers of 2009/2010
We wish you'd stop skipping and jumping and acting like you're King of the World. It's giving us a headache.
Sorry, that's just our bitterness speaking.
Here's what we wanted to tell you: holiday is coming. Oh, you want to go home for the holiday? Too bad. Too late. BKC Moscow says so. Unless you requested holiday time the minute you arrived to Moscow, you get nothing.
From the BKC IH MOSCOW WEEKLY NEWS
Dear teachers,
1. Attention! Holidays!
We are not able to approve any more holiday requests for January. Sorry for the inconvenience.
We will appreciate if you discuss your holiday plans with your students in a more positive way (i.e. encourage them to continue classes even with a cover teacher, etc.)
this means that if any of the students do not come to class while you are gone, you will be blamed for this. you, the new teacher, barely into your second month of teaching, are now in charge of making sure students stay in class when BKC Moscow tells them to.
Sorry, that's just our bitterness speaking.
Here's what we wanted to tell you: holiday is coming. Oh, you want to go home for the holiday? Too bad. Too late. BKC Moscow says so. Unless you requested holiday time the minute you arrived to Moscow, you get nothing.
From the BKC IH MOSCOW WEEKLY NEWS
Dear teachers,
1. Attention! Holidays!
We are not able to approve any more holiday requests for January. Sorry for the inconvenience.
We will appreciate if you discuss your holiday plans with your students in a more positive way (i.e. encourage them to continue classes even with a cover teacher, etc.)
this means that if any of the students do not come to class while you are gone, you will be blamed for this. you, the new teacher, barely into your second month of teaching, are now in charge of making sure students stay in class when BKC Moscow tells them to.
Monday, November 16, 2009
Funny Stuff - WORK FOR FREE FOR BKC!
So, if you're counting your rubles and thinking wow oh wow I am just one rich mother fucker - well, consider doing volunteer work for your employer! The following bulletin comes courtesy of the BKC Weekly News:
LOOKING FOR VOLUNTEERS
We are looking for volunteers for one of our new projects. For those clients who can not attend language courses in our usual format several times a week we will be offering 1 day intensive training programmes on a variety of topics. Such courses will be held on Fridays and/or weekends in central locations mostly. If you have relevant experience and/or are interested in exploring a particular area, please let us know. The EMT has prepared a selection of supplementary materials and guidelines for teachers, however, your personal input and initiative is also much appreciated!There is also a possibility for two teachers to share the same course (morning-afternoon slots), so if you have a partner for tandem teaching, please let us know that, too.
Now, do you think that BKC Moscow GETS PAID from the clients that are taking these intensive training programs? Of course they do. But BKC Moscow is too fucking cheap to pass any of that money your way. That's right. BKC expects you to do it out of the kindness of your heart.
We are speechless.
LOOKING FOR VOLUNTEERS
We are looking for volunteers for one of our new projects. For those clients who can not attend language courses in our usual format several times a week we will be offering 1 day intensive training programmes on a variety of topics. Such courses will be held on Fridays and/or weekends in central locations mostly. If you have relevant experience and/or are interested in exploring a particular area, please let us know. The EMT has prepared a selection of supplementary materials and guidelines for teachers, however, your personal input and initiative is also much appreciated!There is also a possibility for two teachers to share the same course (morning-afternoon slots), so if you have a partner for tandem teaching, please let us know that, too.
Now, do you think that BKC Moscow GETS PAID from the clients that are taking these intensive training programs? Of course they do. But BKC Moscow is too fucking cheap to pass any of that money your way. That's right. BKC expects you to do it out of the kindness of your heart.
We are speechless.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Warning to BKC Moscow Teachers - Flat Inspections
Accommodation will now be sending inspectors who will take pictures of your flat.
From BKC Moscow Weekly News
From BKC Moscow Weekly News
Dear teachers,
To address landlords' concern about state of accommodation we are planning to hold regular flat inspections. I will be contacting each of you to arrange time and date convenient for everyone. In case flats are not kept clean and tidy we will be sending a cleaner once a month and expences will be covered by teachers occupating those flats. Please be aware that we may need to take a picture of the apartment during the inspection.
If you have any questions, please contact me at flats@bkc.ru
Respectfully yours,
Anna, the accommodation coordinator.
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Dear BKC Moscow Recruitment
Originally posted on the BKC Teacher's Forum
Dear Recruitment,
Why do you continue to try to sell ADOS positions with BS like 'training-fund'? Who actually gets to smell any of this? There alway seems to some lame ass excuse to deny this to people who are contractually entitled to it. Perhaps it would be better to just tell the truth!
ADOS/Senior Teacher position means that you'll be: blamed for everything that goes wrong; without authority to improve anything; forced to attend mind-numbing meetings and seminars; over-ruled by the bitch-queen of central office over the pettiest of issues; unknown to the DOSes; forced to cover endless classes at stupid-o'clock in the middle of Bumfuck Moscow Oblast; the general dogsbody of the whole company.
But in return you can be 'trained' as an iealts examiner; get a non-existent fund; and have your very own shitty apartment in the middle of industrial wasteland; eat radioactive slop at lunchtime - and all for less than the salary of the asshole off-contract teachers who can't actually teach but were smart enough to steer well clear of this crock of shit.
Small wonder all the "adosi" are fleeing. What does this tell you? Or do you need to consult a management guru first?
Dear Recruitment,
Why do you continue to try to sell ADOS positions with BS like 'training-fund'? Who actually gets to smell any of this? There alway seems to some lame ass excuse to deny this to people who are contractually entitled to it. Perhaps it would be better to just tell the truth!
ADOS/Senior Teacher position means that you'll be: blamed for everything that goes wrong; without authority to improve anything; forced to attend mind-numbing meetings and seminars; over-ruled by the bitch-queen of central office over the pettiest of issues; unknown to the DOSes; forced to cover endless classes at stupid-o'clock in the middle of Bumfuck Moscow Oblast; the general dogsbody of the whole company.
But in return you can be 'trained' as an iealts examiner; get a non-existent fund; and have your very own shitty apartment in the middle of industrial wasteland; eat radioactive slop at lunchtime - and all for less than the salary of the asshole off-contract teachers who can't actually teach but were smart enough to steer well clear of this crock of shit.
Small wonder all the "adosi" are fleeing. What does this tell you? Or do you need to consult a management guru first?
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Foul-Mouthed Complaint About BKC Moscow
Originally posted on the BKC Moscow Teacher's Forum
Foul-mouthed complaint about BKC
Excuse me while I call foul: "Foul! You big fat ugly LIARS!'
Why you might ask, am I so incensed? Well, it might be because BKC and its key players in administration don't feel the need to be even the slightest bit interested in consistency. New rules are dreamt up: contract changes. New season appraoches: tax regulations mysteriously change too. To make my point more clear, let's look at two different utterances from the horse's mouth. I quote from the Head of Recruitment, as posted on this very forum:
1. Originally (and it IS the case in any other language school in Moscow) only the full time contract teachers are provided with visas, because it costs something to the company and also implies some responsibilities for both parties. As a favour we offered visa support to those willing to work for us and those who were prepared to spent most of their time teaching BKC groups. As inviting organization we hold certain responsibilities in front of authorities for those who have BKC visas and have to pay those authorities officially fixed tariffs, taxes etc.
In case an hourly paid teacher works 24 hours with us we earn enough from classes he/she teaches to pay all those tariffs. In case an hourly paid teacher can't, doesn't want or is not able to work 24 hours why would the company bear all the expenses?
Now, what do we learn at the last meeting? Behold:
The minimum number of teaching hours for those who has BKC visa and works on an hourly basis is 18.
Excuse me? Like what the fuck is going on with all those 'tariffs' we had to pay prior to summer? Why were some of us FINED 6 fucking thousand fucking rubles when our one-to-one students cancelled their lessons, and we were just short of 24 hours? To cover visa costs? And now 18 hours is mysteriously enough to cover the same visa and the same visa costs? I cry FOUL! What a fucking scam!
There never were any taxes needing paying to the authorities which merited 24 hours. You were just milking the crisis for all you could. But now that summer is approaching and legions of teachers are fleeing, and most of the EMT too, now you realise that you'll be fucked again in August/September. So maybe that's the reason for suddenly realising that 18 hours is enough to cover these mythical 'taxes' on the visa - a vain attempt to hold on to staff?
Am I right, or am I fucking right?
What a foul fucking company!
Reply From Another BKC Teacher
Too true,
The decision to lower the "hour ceiling", if you let me use the Boro's BKC dollar inspired phrase, shows that the whole thing was a scam in the first place. Unless BKC is now willing to pay the charge incured by teachers who end up working 18 hours only in the summer period.
Anyhow, the first expanation sounds much more likely, given that we are talking about BKC-IH Moscow.
Reply From Another BKC Teacher
One more thing - it would be extremely helpful to know how the charge is decided on.
What I mean is whether is it enough to work 96 hours per week (with the weekly minimum of 24 hours) not to be charged, or does a teacher have to work every single week at least 24 hours.
You see there are weeks when I clock as many as 35-40 hours, so if the charge was imposed only in the first case ( not less than 96 per month), it would mean that I and any other teacher could make up for hours lost due to some laid-back one-2-one students not showing up at the end of a week, if I make myself clear.
Whatever the case, as always our having knowledge would help.
Another Reply
I'm curious. If having a BKC visa implies responsibility on both parties' sides, does that mean the freelancers are going to get all their health benefits, tax details and holiday pay? It is the case that it is BKC's responsibility to provide such for all their employees. If in doubt, consult the law.
Anybody in Boro wish to comment? Or shall you ignore such niceties also?
Reply From an Actual BKC Administrator (aka Boro Lady)
Yes, a teacher should work 24 hours every single week.
Hours were decreased for Summer because the company just cannot garantee 24 hours for every teacher and in this case it would be definetely not a teacher's fault.
Such benefits as holiday pay are already included in your hourly rate. For confirmation of taxes please call us to know how to receive a document you need.
Another Reply
Dear Boro Lady,
Actually, I have been informed recently by one of the staff on the 3rd floor boro that an off-contract teacher has to work the minimum of 48 hours (2x24) every pay period.
Could you either confirm or contradict this info?
Reply From Boro Lady
Such benefits as holiday pay are already included in your hourly rate. For confirmation of taxes please call us to know how to receive a document you need.
Reply From Teacher
Dear Boro Lady,
As I asked before, where is this stated in our contracts? Sounds like a convenient invention to me. And what about health insurance? Pension payments?
Any concrete answers from BKC likely?
Another Reply from Another BKC Teacher
I am very curious about How you are going to explain this issue. Namely, another curious teacher pointed out to me the fact that whether an "off-contract" teacher brings BKC money or not doesn't relly depend on how many hours he'she works, but, as far as classes are considered, on how many students there are in his class.
Point taken, if a teacher has 5 people in their class, the company doesn't earn the same money out of their service as out of the one teaching, say, 11.
Which only comes to prove that the whole tax tariff is at least as clear as we we are (unsuccessfully) being made to believe.
The Post That BKC Never Replied To
Dear Boro Lady,
Did you know that it is illegal to include all benefits like holiday-pay into an employee's salary? Is anybody in BKC aware of a the thing called the law?
Don't you understand that BKC is still liable for holiday payments for ALL of its teachers, regardless of their status as freelancers?
I'd start answering the questions here if I were you, thank you very much.
A Few Days Later
So? Are you going to respect Russian law or not? Do you want a court case?
In the end, there was only deafening silence from BKC.
Foul-mouthed complaint about BKC
Excuse me while I call foul: "Foul! You big fat ugly LIARS!'
Why you might ask, am I so incensed? Well, it might be because BKC and its key players in administration don't feel the need to be even the slightest bit interested in consistency. New rules are dreamt up: contract changes. New season appraoches: tax regulations mysteriously change too. To make my point more clear, let's look at two different utterances from the horse's mouth. I quote from the Head of Recruitment, as posted on this very forum:
1. Originally (and it IS the case in any other language school in Moscow) only the full time contract teachers are provided with visas, because it costs something to the company and also implies some responsibilities for both parties. As a favour we offered visa support to those willing to work for us and those who were prepared to spent most of their time teaching BKC groups. As inviting organization we hold certain responsibilities in front of authorities for those who have BKC visas and have to pay those authorities officially fixed tariffs, taxes etc.
In case an hourly paid teacher works 24 hours with us we earn enough from classes he/she teaches to pay all those tariffs. In case an hourly paid teacher can't, doesn't want or is not able to work 24 hours why would the company bear all the expenses?
Now, what do we learn at the last meeting? Behold:
The minimum number of teaching hours for those who has BKC visa and works on an hourly basis is 18.
Excuse me? Like what the fuck is going on with all those 'tariffs' we had to pay prior to summer? Why were some of us FINED 6 fucking thousand fucking rubles when our one-to-one students cancelled their lessons, and we were just short of 24 hours? To cover visa costs? And now 18 hours is mysteriously enough to cover the same visa and the same visa costs? I cry FOUL! What a fucking scam!
There never were any taxes needing paying to the authorities which merited 24 hours. You were just milking the crisis for all you could. But now that summer is approaching and legions of teachers are fleeing, and most of the EMT too, now you realise that you'll be fucked again in August/September. So maybe that's the reason for suddenly realising that 18 hours is enough to cover these mythical 'taxes' on the visa - a vain attempt to hold on to staff?
Am I right, or am I fucking right?
What a foul fucking company!
Reply From Another BKC Teacher
Too true,
The decision to lower the "hour ceiling", if you let me use the Boro's BKC dollar inspired phrase, shows that the whole thing was a scam in the first place. Unless BKC is now willing to pay the charge incured by teachers who end up working 18 hours only in the summer period.
Anyhow, the first expanation sounds much more likely, given that we are talking about BKC-IH Moscow.
Reply From Another BKC Teacher
One more thing - it would be extremely helpful to know how the charge is decided on.
What I mean is whether is it enough to work 96 hours per week (with the weekly minimum of 24 hours) not to be charged, or does a teacher have to work every single week at least 24 hours.
You see there are weeks when I clock as many as 35-40 hours, so if the charge was imposed only in the first case ( not less than 96 per month), it would mean that I and any other teacher could make up for hours lost due to some laid-back one-2-one students not showing up at the end of a week, if I make myself clear.
Whatever the case, as always our having knowledge would help.
Another Reply
I'm curious. If having a BKC visa implies responsibility on both parties' sides, does that mean the freelancers are going to get all their health benefits, tax details and holiday pay? It is the case that it is BKC's responsibility to provide such for all their employees. If in doubt, consult the law.
Anybody in Boro wish to comment? Or shall you ignore such niceties also?
Reply From an Actual BKC Administrator (aka Boro Lady)
Yes, a teacher should work 24 hours every single week.
Hours were decreased for Summer because the company just cannot garantee 24 hours for every teacher and in this case it would be definetely not a teacher's fault.
Such benefits as holiday pay are already included in your hourly rate. For confirmation of taxes please call us to know how to receive a document you need.
Another Reply
Dear Boro Lady,
Actually, I have been informed recently by one of the staff on the 3rd floor boro that an off-contract teacher has to work the minimum of 48 hours (2x24) every pay period.
Could you either confirm or contradict this info?
Reply From Boro Lady
Such benefits as holiday pay are already included in your hourly rate. For confirmation of taxes please call us to know how to receive a document you need.
Reply From Teacher
Dear Boro Lady,
As I asked before, where is this stated in our contracts? Sounds like a convenient invention to me. And what about health insurance? Pension payments?
Any concrete answers from BKC likely?
Another Reply from Another BKC Teacher
I am very curious about How you are going to explain this issue. Namely, another curious teacher pointed out to me the fact that whether an "off-contract" teacher brings BKC money or not doesn't relly depend on how many hours he'she works, but, as far as classes are considered, on how many students there are in his class.
Point taken, if a teacher has 5 people in their class, the company doesn't earn the same money out of their service as out of the one teaching, say, 11.
Which only comes to prove that the whole tax tariff is at least as clear as we we are (unsuccessfully) being made to believe.
The Post That BKC Never Replied To
Dear Boro Lady,
Did you know that it is illegal to include all benefits like holiday-pay into an employee's salary? Is anybody in BKC aware of a the thing called the law?
Don't you understand that BKC is still liable for holiday payments for ALL of its teachers, regardless of their status as freelancers?
I'd start answering the questions here if I were you, thank you very much.
A Few Days Later
So? Are you going to respect Russian law or not? Do you want a court case?
In the end, there was only deafening silence from BKC.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
BKC is Getting Boring
BKC is getting boring. though the faces change often we always have the same old breaches of contracts, same old lies, same old unskilled and apathetic staff. same mistakes year after year. even a remarkably dull lab rat would have learned some new reflexes by now.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Why BKC is Doomed and Who is to Blame
Originally posted on the BKC Teacher's Forum
Post:
Recruiting is a tricky business, we all know. But just for everyone's edification let's look at what has happened to Recruitment in the last couple of years. Certain individuals were running the whole shop to rack and ruin, then they leave, as staff are wont to do. They are replaced by far more competent people who LISTEN to others and have realistic ideas on how to treat colleagues. And so for all the year that they are at the helm BKC is a much happier place to work and people are more or less satisfied with their lot. Then, like the eternal bad penny certain of the bad crew wriggle back into positions of authority and the rot starts up once more. The cooler minds are sidelined, passions flare and now we have this daft 'crisis' action plan that is threatening to rip the heart out of our jolly little school.
Well done Recruitment, hats off to a job well done. Endless praise to the individual architect of this collective suicide.
Next Post
BKC is breaking the law. Even in Russia, that's not allowed, and there is no excuse for it. A contract is a contract. It doesn't matter if [some people] think some of the teachers or EMT 'deserve' this maltreatment, it is still maltreatment... I've been here for more than just a few years and I've seen some nasty shit go down, a lot worse than not getting a smile. If wanting to know why I am being subjected to illegal measures is ruffling feathers, then I'm going to do a lot more of it - plucking may be a better term. Am I so bad in wanting to know how much I'm working for? And why should I do my job better ( for less pay ) when certain admin people are woefully bad at theirs?! When in fact, they have a history of mismanagement and crap communication skills.
I think you [all] need to re-assess your postion and get wise to the reality. Or maybe you enjoy being walked all over?
Last Post
There is nothing that anybody could call management in BKC. And the poor unfortunate souls in Boro never deal with anything, certainly not face to face. Sneaky, underhand bully-boy tactics are much more favoured. And no I'm not happy - gee how did you tell? Guess what asshole - neither are most of your colleagues.
Post:
Recruiting is a tricky business, we all know. But just for everyone's edification let's look at what has happened to Recruitment in the last couple of years. Certain individuals were running the whole shop to rack and ruin, then they leave, as staff are wont to do. They are replaced by far more competent people who LISTEN to others and have realistic ideas on how to treat colleagues. And so for all the year that they are at the helm BKC is a much happier place to work and people are more or less satisfied with their lot. Then, like the eternal bad penny certain of the bad crew wriggle back into positions of authority and the rot starts up once more. The cooler minds are sidelined, passions flare and now we have this daft 'crisis' action plan that is threatening to rip the heart out of our jolly little school.
Well done Recruitment, hats off to a job well done. Endless praise to the individual architect of this collective suicide.
Next Post
BKC is breaking the law. Even in Russia, that's not allowed, and there is no excuse for it. A contract is a contract. It doesn't matter if [some people] think some of the teachers or EMT 'deserve' this maltreatment, it is still maltreatment... I've been here for more than just a few years and I've seen some nasty shit go down, a lot worse than not getting a smile. If wanting to know why I am being subjected to illegal measures is ruffling feathers, then I'm going to do a lot more of it - plucking may be a better term. Am I so bad in wanting to know how much I'm working for? And why should I do my job better ( for less pay ) when certain admin people are woefully bad at theirs?! When in fact, they have a history of mismanagement and crap communication skills.
I think you [all] need to re-assess your postion and get wise to the reality. Or maybe you enjoy being walked all over?
Last Post
There is nothing that anybody could call management in BKC. And the poor unfortunate souls in Boro never deal with anything, certainly not face to face. Sneaky, underhand bully-boy tactics are much more favoured. And no I'm not happy - gee how did you tell? Guess what asshole - neither are most of your colleagues.
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