This morning, I went into Taipei to meet with David Roberts, the head of Shane in Taiwan. Overall, I think the meeting went well, and he was exceptionally courteous and professional to me regarding the predicament I am currently having over my visa.
He told me that Shane would pay any further costs regarding the process of obtaining a visa and residency--that I had paid everything he expected me to pay involving this matter. That was very reassuring. What I failed to do, however, was ask him explicitly about whether this meant the head organization would pay or my branch would pay. I also failed to ask clearly whether Shane could find any way of arranging things so that I could be in a position to apply for a proper residency visa when I next have to fly out in December.
On returning to Taoyuan this evening, I had a somewhat heated conversation with Eve and Ruby, who told me they wanted me to pay for the replacement teacher they had to get in to cover my class when I was unable to come home on Friday. They also said that they will pay for only ONE flight out to Hong Kong. This could be problematic as they are unlikely to have their license to operate by then.
My contract states pretty explicitly that visa runs caused by the school's issues, as opposed to mine, are paid for by the school. I will talk to Dave about all of this; it's possible that Head Office will do whatever it takes to get me a proper visa. But if he says all responsibility for paying in future lies with Eve and Ruby, who refuse to pay for a third visa run (even though this one would be necessitated entirely by their lack of a license to operate), I will be forced to find another employer, leave the country, or both.
I say, "or both," because I also met this morning with Mitch Gordon, the head of the agency that recruited me to come to Taiwan. His agency also recruits for South Korea, and it is possible he could line me up with a position there. All of this, of course, will have to be discussed. But I have e-mailed him about the conversation Eve and Ruby had with me this evening.
The thing is, they're not really in a position to demand anything or talk about what they won't pay for. Because I could simply tell Taiwanese immigration that they are operating their school illegally, which would result in major problems for them and possibly force their branch to shut down.
For now, though, I am not going to get confrontational, except to assert that I will not pay for the replacement teachere who covered for me on Friday. We will cross the issue of a third visa run if it comes to that. But things are very much up in the air right now.
On the other hand, I at least received (most of) my paycheck today. I say most of, because I don't yet have a bank account in Taiwan, and we had not actually settled how I would be paid until I have one (which may not be until after this visa mess sorts itself out). But this evening, I came home from Taipei ravenous, with no money in my pocket and no means of getting any. When I went to Hong Kong last week, I never informed my bank back in America of my visit, because I thought I had enough cash to cover the trip (and I would have, if I hadn't had to stay another night in Hong Kong). So today, I attempted to withdraw money using my ATM card and couldn't get a transaction through. I ended up having to walk home from the Taoyuan train station--mercifully, I had purchased a return ticket in the morning--and asked Eve to pay me my wages in cash, as I had literally no money and no access to money.
She was able to pay me 20,000 NT--a bit over half my salary--because the banks were closed by the time I got back from the station and this was all she had on hand (I was impressed that she had even that much). I expect I will have the rest of it by the end of the week.
This is not a huge amount of money, but given the extreme low cost of living in Taiwan--a cheap meal out will cost about 120 NT (less than $4 U.S.) for much more than you get even from a fast-food place in America--the salary will at least allow me to save and repair some amount of the damages my finances have suffered over the past year and a half.
If I am able to stay, that is.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
My advice, which you can take or leave: If you can get a) a signed contract and b) a legitimate visa, ditch these turkeys and take a job in Korea. In my opinion, the people for whom you're allegedly working are untrustworthy. What will they expect you to pay for next?
Post a Comment