Dear CL,

thanks for your comments and reply to my posting. It seems SAFEA is a useless agency for foreigners in China to rely on, and a country that doesn't even allow trade unions isn't perhaps the greatest place to work, but there you go.

In Oman, where I have worked before, the Omani labour law does have some clout with regards protecting teachers rights. For example you have a 3 month probationary period where if you want to quit at any time you may do so by giving 7 days notice IIRC. Imagine trying that at a crappy training centre like Web or somewhere in China, and making sure you get all due salary payments, deposits, etc etc. The problem remains we have no real rights enshrined in law in China, and our consulates can do little. So I do agree with you in fighting small fights, if we can use these boards to warn others of certain FAO's and hit them where it hurts that way, then that in itself would bring little victories. Ideally, I would like some kind of trade union in China, run by a foreign representative, for FT's in China.