In response to (Message Deleted by Poster) (JN)

Thanks, JN.

Responses actually varied quite a bit.
But I think you're assuming a different approach than I actually took in many cases; maybe my own phrasing helped that. The real point of the old "John Wayne toilet paper" line is in the not taking crap off of anyone.

You don't begin the process by screaming and threatening and pounding your shoe on the table. You begin by holding civil meetings and smiling a lot and quietly presenting a case based upon facts, reason, and your contract....but sticking to your guns, and yes, not taking any crap off of anyone.

This actually worked pretty well in most cases. Chinese employers are accustomed to Chinese employees, and the near-dictatorial hold the employers have over them. The employers will try to bluff through a lot of nonsense, on the assumption that the employee will simply lower their head and submit to whatever the boss wants, the way Chinese employees all too often do. When they see that a foreign employee is going to resist, and they are confronted- civilly- with the fact that they have absolutely no basis for the ripoff they're trying to pull, in many cases the employer will back down and cancel the unfair changes they tried to foist on you. Sure, this doesn't exactly endear you to the employer, because you've denied them the unfair and unearned advantage they were trying to steal from you, but it is at least still possible to work together.

In one or two cases this approach didn't work, and I in fact DID go Khrushchev on them; this generally culminated in my showing them the clauses of my contract that had been violated, declaring the contract void, and resigning. Sure, I had to find a new job- which in China can often take well over 15 minutes- but I felt a helluva lot better. ;-{) And Mr. big important school-owner mans was left with a gaping hole in his teaching staff, and egg all over his face.

The point I really wanted to make is that sure, there are some adjustments we have to make when working in China...but under no circumstances should we ever allow ourselves to get ripped off, thinking it's just the local system. NO job on earth is worth our taking abuse, and there are generally so many unfilled jobs out there that moving on is usually quite feasible for us. Chinese employers pull their little scams because, usually, they WORK...and foreign teachers who go along with them are part of the problem, not part of the solution. They help preserve and perpetuate a system that's rotten to its very core.

If the message ever gets out that NO foreign teachers are going to play these little games and let the owners/managers abuse them and steal from them, and that the old tactics no longer work, you're going to see China changing so fast it'll make your head spin.

So saddle up, Pilgrim...