You are here

Home › Blogs › Shawn's blog

A Plea to Work

This comes from hurry_up_and_die in the forums and will either make you laugh or scream. The Japanese staff would like you to come into work today. Apparently, they seem to think Nova is recovering.

To instructors who have come to work today,

I really appreciate your cooperation and carrying out your responsibility.

NOVA can not be exist without you. I cannot express how much the staff and students were saved by your hard work and effort. We, Japanese staff, are also going to form a union and going to fight with the company legally. i have a favor to ask of you, please report "I am working ata Japanese company but cannot live due to the non-payment of my salary" to your home country's Foreign Affairs Ministry. If your Foreign Affairs Ministries approach the Japanese government, it will be a social phenomenon and our situation will be known in society and we can put pressure on the company.

Lets keep carry out our responsibility to protect our rights. I will send you our union's information in English soon. We will feel reassured if we can get your assistance.

To instructors who didn't work at the branches today,

We totally understand your situation, but your decision not to work is making our company's recovery worse. If we cannot provide lessons to students then we have to close branches. In this case, the company, that has not paid us, and those that don't carry out their duty to work bear responsibility.

We can prosecute the company for the salary delay. If you chose to walk out on the job and not work it does more damage than good for the students and for your case against the company. Striking is a legal way to do this, rather than walking out. please try to stay calm, stand together and protest to get the public's understanding and sympathy.

If you report to your home country's Foreign Affairs Aministration, you can and solve this problem in a diplomatic way. The more of you that do this, the better because ther's power in numbers.

If we continue to loose students that are still coming to branches, we will be at the very end. We really need your cooperation.

We formed a union and plan to take legal. We cannot get people to support and protect our rights without your help and hard work in the branches.

Please come back to branches.

signature and hanko of J-staff ITM

Comment:

It's a bit late for this, especially when teachers and staff haven't been paid. Striking or walking out on the job are perfectly legal recourses for employees who have been denied what's owed them. I'm not sure what effect reporting to one's "Foreign Affairs Aministration," would have other than for them to alert its citizens not to work for Nova. This is an internal matter for Japan to handle, and two things have to happen: Sahashi has to come out of hiding and METI must shut down the company.

Japan: 
nova
Eikaiwa: 
Naked Theft

Comments

What NOVA is doing is illegal. By going into work you're saying that it's OK for NOVA to do what it's doing. Why should NOVA change? They don't pay, but we work anyway? Why not take it a step further? Offer to teach during your lunch break. You aren't being paid; it's he same thing.

I work for money. What do you work for?

It is my first and probably last comment I will post in any blog about Nova. I am a spanish teacher working in Nova and I already contacted my embassy last week. It is easy to forget that inside Nova there are more countries affected apart from english speaking countries. My embassy was worried by the amount of work I was asking but the response I got was satisfactory. Not only they began to move but also were pretending to gather forces with italy, germany and other european countries. So I recommend to act in that way too. At least one person is enough to put the embassy in situation. I know that Australian government was doing plenty of actions.

I also believe that the pressure we can make to receive what is owed will depend a lot in the future on this help. I also hope to become big news in our countries. Spain, England, Germany, Italy, Austria, Mexico, Chile, Argentina, Canada, USA, New Zealand, Australia... Maybe we will not get anything but I am sure more than one will loose the face and be ashamed of the unefficiency of a japanese company and the japanese government.

It is time to teach them that in Spain we have a public office that assures the unpaid wages (called FOGASA) to the workers.

About going to work or not. That`s a difficult question. I endured last week but probably won`t this week. Japanese staff must understand that there are a huge amount of teachers that have been cheated by their beloved company. Only inside the spanish team 7 teachers arrived within the last 3 months. These people had to pay the ticket to come to Japan and still hadn`t received any money. It is too much. We live 14.000 km. far away from our families and almost no chance to get a single yen from the company or the government. Maybe all this japanese staff should ask our dear and care leader to pay first of all the new teachers who are in a extreme position thanks to him.

I would also like to ask these japanese staff to offer us more help. Invite us to your homes to eat together. Please, come to understand our difficult situation instead of making us feel worse. As Sahashi said, the problems of this company started long ago (and that moment we were working hard).

We need news from Sahashi. Where is he? How can he be so selfish and coward? How can he dare to ask more "ganbattes" for everybody and presence in job when nobody has seen his face in weeks. Do you think is a good idea to send a fax at night after not paying anybody? If he wants to say ganbatte to me he should appear in the school and bow to me because I want to save his company to the sudden death.

Japanese staff should try to reach Sahashi. He is the problem of all this. With a good leader this situation wouldn`t have gone so far. Only in 3 months we are in chaos and panic.

And finally I would like to complaint about japanese news. Again another lesson for them. Enough programs of food and more information from the real problems of your society. So close to such a big scandal with so many people afffected and yet to see anything serious in the news. What a shame!! This society is lobotomized!

The worst thing of all is that we are becoming and uncomfortable problem for the banks and the government and that might be the reason to keep it covered. The money they won`t receive, the claims they will have to face and all that shame is big enough to keep NOVA as a secret.

After writing this I will go to the labour office to present my claim for the unpaid wages (as my embassy recommended me to do).

Good luck for all.

Cheers dr. x you've stated exactly my thoughts about this matter! I too have gone to my emabassy and today I will go to my labour office.

Shame on the media!

Mon, 10/22/2007 - 09:40 — Tengu (not verified)

Well said Dr.x, the described situation applies to almost all the teachers.

Dr X. Thank you for your insightful response. I too think the Japanese staff need to realise just what they are asking people to do, whilst they should be helping the teachers (not that they really can now, not being paid themselves). There were some really nice staff when I was there, but they definitely saw teachers overall as a 'product' rather than as people, it was hilarious how they would fall all over themselves to suck up to salaryman students and ignore passing teachers. But all that, I suppose, was their job.

Of course if you aren't getting paid, walking out is legal. I don't hear too many people talking about a Nova recovery, where are the detailed plans for such a thing, who will bail them out? This sounds more like a false hope than anything else, it's time to move on and it's important to remember, always, that Nova's reputation fell because of using staff to cheat students out of large sums of money, way before teachers started walking out. Other than Saruhashi, there's no-one really to blame for all this- the captain is in charge of the ship and he's the one who'll have to go down with it.

Dr. X'x comments are right on the ball.

It is up to us to do something about this situation and hopefully get the ball moving for compensation.

I agree with Dr. X, go and see your embassy and follow their advice. This will also get you name on their records in case emergency procedures are needed when the sh*t hits the fan. The greater the numbers your government is officially aware of the more effective they can be. This IS an international incident.

Also get your parents, friends and family members to contact their local member or representative on your behalf. Again, this will increase official numbers and get the ball rolling faster.

On another issue. I've been doing a bit of research into Working Holiday Visas. Since these are only for 6 months (extendable to 12)and when in Japan on one you can only work for 3 months for any one employer, it seems you are not eligible for unemployment insurance.(hence the amount of money required and the return airfare you have to prove you have) For newer teachers that have come on a WHV, I'm not really sure what this will mean for you but I suggest you check out the Japan Association for Working Holiday Makers site.

Another thing I've been thinking about, and this I'm not sure about but it has happened in the past. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs could cancel all our visas when NOVA folds. As I said this has been done before in other industries. The company folds so technically the "sponsor" no longer exists, then the stance MOFA can take is that the visa is invalid and we're in the country illegally. Therefore no right to unemployment insurance and the possibility of incarceration and deportation. BUT and a big but, I'm not 100% on this. Though if you have already registered the problem with your embassy you will have a legal paper trail and perhaps some means of resolution.

So positive, informative information is what we all need at this time. As I said some of the information above is not clear so look into it yourself, contact your embassy and above all look after yourself.

Take care everyone.

... to not come to work. If anyone continues to work, it allows the company to carry out despite hemorrhaging money, students, and teachers. We have to start convincing everyone to STOP WORKING! If we don't, I fear that Nova will continue to consolidate teachers from closed schools into open schools... and somehow be able to continue on, thus delaying our ability to collect unemployment. And I think there's (more than) enough "yes ma'am" teachers at Nova to continue on despite not being paid. So if all of you aren't already doing it, please start trying to convince your fellow employees to stop working altogether.

I have a few friends that are Japanese staff. Apparently they've been fed some information (likely false) from Japanese upper management that pay is %80 likely by the end of this week. This, if nothing else, is fanciful. It's an active disinformation campaign to save an insolvent company. Saruhashi is delusional, and the public officials who continue to sit on thier hands while a public relations debacle unfolds are truly tone deaf to the broader implications. At this point the Japanese staff are eligible to collect UI. That they haven't begun to do so in larger numbers is incomprehensible. Japanese productivity and company fealty are the toast of international organizations whose job it is to measure these types things. What they often neglect to point out is how ascetic and pathological the work culture really is. Surely it's something I'll never understand, as much as I've already tried to.

As Shawn says, it's almost certainly too little, to late, but I was actually glad to see this fax. One of my biggest regrets while working at Nova was that the working environment seemed designed to actively encourage confrontation and mistrust between the staff and the teachers. To me, this fax shows what things could have been like if we somehow could have resolved our differences earlier. It's hard to judge, but it didn't seem to me that the authors actually believed that Nova would recover, only that teachers on unofficial walk-outs are making life harder for the remaining staff and students and removing any slim chance that might remain. Whatever you think about the moral case for walking out, there's no doubt that this is true.

I know everyone has got a sack full of stories about the J staff putting pressure on students or even outright lying to sell more tickets. Well, hey - I can tell you that that happens in pretty much every commercially run school I've ever taught at. In fact, some of the cowboy operations I've seen back home in London manage to make Nova look positively virtuous. Nova got found out and has been rightly punished, and now everyone's having to face the consequences of top management's greed and criminality. Don't blame the staff for that. The crap they have had to put up with from their managers has been just as bad as that we've had over all these years from ATs and AAMs. We had to fake smiles, fake enthusiasm and turn on the charm for the customers. So did they

Of course things are worse for the foreigners who get stranded with no money in Japan. But they aren't a bed of roses for the staff either. A lot of posters on here seem to think that when Nova finally sinks, all the staff will be back home with mummy and daddy, laughing at the dumb gaijin. That really isn't true. Anyone who lives in Osaka or Tokyo can see the evidence around them that Japan is rapidly losing whatever economic safety nets it had. Some of these staff are young, vulnerable and in some cases are very far from home, family and support. I sincerely wish all the best to all you teachers, especially the new guys, but I feel for any staff facing troubles too.

All I can say is good luck to all you guys. I'm no expert, but from my own experience, I definitely agree with Firechild and Dr.X and advise contacting your embassy or consulate. There's a far better chance of support from there than waiting in the hope of another paycheck or UI. Just remember, when the ship goes down, it's taking the students and staff as well as the teachers. We're in this together - Don't let the bosses keep dividing us and laughing all the way to the bank.

Hi, former JET with much sympathy to all concerned. I'm very glad to see the J-staff take this step, though I think they would have had a better chance of success if they'd unionized and done it three months ago, or even three weeks ago. Hard not to see it as too little, WAY too late.

Japanese companies, when they bring in foreign workers, seem to expect them to behave like Japanese. That was certainly my experience in schools, and friends' experience in the companies where they worked. Of course, Western first-timers never will (how could they?), and I wish some-- any-- of these companies had some sense of how Westerners think. Especially when we know the company will never reciprocate our loyalty with a real career.

I wish this would become a big wake-up call to a country terrified of (and obsessed with) foreigners, who will need to import them to maintain their economy all too soon. But it seems clear it won't be, and that we're in danger of gaijin being scapegoated.

PLEASE make noise at your embassies, especially those of you from smaller countries. If nothing else, a lot of people need to be embarrassed by this, and it's not the gaijin. Take care, everyone--

That is about as likely as Bush suddenly finding all those WMD in Iraq!

Stop and look at this from an outside perspective. What is Nova? It is just a poorly run, debt burdened, corrupt English school with a very bad name and demoralized, shrinking work force. Most of these workers are foreingers with no political clout.

Therefore, the government will feel no real pressure to bail it out. In fact, it would likely face a negative reaction if it did from taxpayers and Nova's competition.

What company would want put money into Nova at this stage? What would they be getting? If they could not get anyone to do it months ago, that will be impossible now.

The students might get some sympathy but but buyer beware...

Nova is finished. That is that. You would be MUCH better off banking on winning the lottery than you are of betting on Nova.

The two companies that could buy shares would ensure the company could survive for a number of months if they exercised those warrants. Naturally the share price would rise, above 35 yen, irrespective of what the current price is.
They might buy and sell those shares quickly however. Anyway I wouldn't say that the companies won't buy the shares, just because the current price is below 35 yen.

At ¥35,000 for a thousand shares? I'd rather take the students out for dinner!

one of the first proactive and productive messages on here in months. very insightful and pretty much dead on. i'm going to my embassy tomorrow and have already gone to the labor office several times.

i also want to say that it's really nice to finally see people responding with praise instead of insult on here.

My school has closed down last week and i'm the only one left in this hole. The electricity got cut off. Next is gas!?! The fridge is empty, I'm so hungry! Any-buddy stwant to buy me dinner? Starvation was not on my list when I came. H-E-L-P !

Mon, 10/22/2007 - 17:06 — Alex Case (not verified)

As someone outside this story but who has been following it quite closely, can I ask why some people think the long term solution to their problems is the shutting down of Nova? It might be just, it might be unavoidable, but how it will improve the lives of teachers in Nova who want to stay in Japan I really can't see.

TEFLtastic blog- www.tefl.net/alexcase

as if ever being asked by the sycophantic nova pink/blue tags (both j and foreign) to 'work together' is ever going to tug at the heart strings of the instructors.

work together? i love this newfound sense of solidarity and 'that we're all in it together' when you finally found yourselves on the receiving end of your own bullshit.

its really a shame that your sham clock watching job never turned out into the 'japanese job for life' that you were hoping for.

just rewards. good luck with your 'union', especially when your superiors worked so hard to keep instructors from organizing
themselves.

oh yeah ...no hard feelings but nova pink and blue tags can only do us a favour by not breeding. in this the last moments of the usagi empire, its the least you can do for us and the future generations to come.

oh and by all means stay in japan. the real world has passed you by.

Is that another possible payday? I suppose it`s the one that comes after we get the mysterious Virgin Islands money. I`m with you, no food, no train fair to get to work (if i was planning to attend). I want to go to work, I like it. But if I do then my money is even further away. I`ll be there the day after I get paid, I promise. At least until i get that new job that is just around the corner.
The J staff works hard, has to put up with alot from students, and is definately in a shitty situation too. In the above plea to work, the staff member feigns understanding of those of us who have decided to put pressure on the company with the only leverage we have, our willingness to show up and at least nod at the students. That letter then lays the blame for any future closings, inability to recover money, and any other negative outcome at the feet of the teachers. This is enraging to me.
I fully bit into the delayed payday fax, and worked until the 19, happily chatting with students, nervously knowing that the decietful nature of the company was not to be trusted. But I had no choice, so I trusted. Then, after the 19th, I realized that I don`t trust NOVA; never did, and I do have a choice, fuck `em.
Our staff, nice as they are, honest as they sometimes are, are trained to be decietful. As are we to a certain extent. We are only trained to be subtlely misleading to the students from time to time. The staff is trained to pressure and manipulate both the students and the teachers. We all like to think that the flirty giggle or "i think your japanese is really good" is just for us, and because we are so special. Just consider that it might not be the case with all the staff all the time.
This particular letter displays, if anything, a complete lack of understanding concerning why I don`t attend work anymore. To be honest, a more blatant lie about when I would recieve my money would have been more likely to get me to work, but I`m a trusting guy.
At any rate, I`m using my last ¥1000 to get to the embassy and try to get my money. Hold on and keep working at NOVA if you can, if you think it will help. I think those of us who can`t even afford to work because we had to pay rent twice last month because we got evicted can get the UI, even if the Co. is`nt bankrupt, we`ll see. If it was me though, and this is just my opinion, I`d feel like a scab a bit. The staff that wrote that letter are scabs a bit. Using the future formation of a staff union to keep us working while we can`t eat or pay rent as motivation to come in to work, no.

Two arguments for getting paid:

1)Jstaff and teachers who still work argument

There`s a better chance of getting paid if we go to work and continue to lessen the debt to the students by chipping away at their credits

2)Jstaff and teachers who stopped working argument

There`s a better chance of getting paid if we put pressure on the Co. by stopping all operations untill they provide us with our money, or at least a solid plan as to how we will recieve that money, something, anything more than a President who is in hiding and so little information from management that it is CLEAR, very clear just how little we are valued by the co.

SO if you believe argument 1, you`re not a scab, you`re just mislead in my opinion. If you don`t truely believe argument one but you`re going in still because you think it puts you higher up on the list of those who will one day get paid, fair enough, but the result would be much better if we worked together. Stop going in. Just for a day at least, everyone, just to demonstrate that we can work together, that they can`t hobble along taking advantage of your willingness to hang in there, while some of us can`t. It`s the most selfish choice in this situation, and I know you gotta think about #1. But you might not get paid either.

What`s one day, just to see if we can jar them into pooling some resources and paying us? How about tomorrow?

Don`t sell each other out, keep it real.
And don`t be bamboozled by the staff who would pursuade you to work. The staff that are not NOBOTs, including my friends, would never ask this of us. Remember that all the staff are not the same, the good ones want out as much as we do, and they want to pressure the Co. too, for their money. But don`t think that going into work tomorrow will do anything but send a message that there are still some lemmings that will shuffle into work, complain all day, but never consider taking any measure that would put sufficient pressure to get us our money.

they can`t function without us, it`s an easy choice for them. Pay or don`t function. Pay would be the best. Don`t function?, at least it would happen tomorrow instead of in another month, when my starved corpse is found.

I'd agree that the situation for the Japanese staff, especially those who moved to be nearer to their work, is also grim. It is too bad that there was never enough unity for people to feel like they are on the same page- I think you're right, that this is institutional, maybe a kind of 'divide and rule' strategy. But when I was there, we always felt sympathy for them, tired and overworked and with all kinds of unnatural pressures. Mostly female, they suffer a kind of workplace discrimination here, which Nova exploits.

Another thing for them is that they may well worry that by seeming disloyal to nova, by striking or walking out, they may jeopardise their reputation in Japanese society and also in getting other jobs. This is probably one reason why they took so long to have this kind of response. I feel for them too.

All I'll say though is that no-one should feel they have to still go into nova out of loyalty to the staff, who in turn are loyal to nova. If Nova sinks, they won't be able to help you and their sources of support may be different to teachers (I expect as many that can will turn to their families). The lawsuits they talk of will take quiet some time, so shorter-term solutions are also important.

So I'd say that going to the embassy and registering yourself could get a lot more safety than hoping for Nova to pay or the intransigent government to fulfill it's duties (which I believe, having granted visas in the name of working for Nova, they still have).

If you want to stay on and work I strongly recommend you go for decent ALT jobs, if not now, then later. Some of the other eikaiwas are just as shady as Nova, but they could offer a quick cash fix- I personally worked for one the year after Nova and in some ways the conditions were even worse, but generally they were better and it was a more human environment (teachers and staff were friends there and we joked together all the time). I feel for you guys as you are in a really tight spot- you just need solutions that will actually help you.

Its kind of like how when told they have a terminal ilness and death will be slow and painful some people would prefer to just get it over with and die straight away. Nova sickness is terminal itd be better if somebody euthanized it so everybody could get on with their lives.

Hey guys..saw this guy @ Nova MM Centre earlier today...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFKkZtX_7V0

Cheers

Bobby T

People love a good conspiracy theory and love for things to be more complicated than they really are. However the reality is painfully simple and clear.

1. Working now brings NO EXTRA MONEY into the company. The students who you will be teaching had their money spent by the company long go. No extra cash will come of it.

2. Someone said that just because the share price is below that outlined in the warrants, that is no reason why the warrants will not be exercised. What a load of shit! would you enter a complicated agreement to buy something at a higher price than what you could buy directly? Never!

3. The company has NO assets. There are no tangible assets left! There are no intangible assets left either! No student in their right mind will sign with Nova now. Now prospective teacher will sign with Nova now. No other company will do business with Nova now. The best thing you can do in this field is distance yourself from this company. The name is a liability.

4. The only reason the company is still 'trading' is because it has no expenses! Nova isn't paying wages, rent, or anything! Nova died a long time ago, many just haven't realised it yet because they are falling for a trickless magician.

I'll probably keep working at least until the end of this week though some teachers who qualify for unemployment insurance will wait for the 16th so they can get it right away. (Two delayed paychecks.)
I totally agree with some earlier posts made here. Teachers should seek out the embassy if they are nearing the end of their rope. Some foreign news or bad press may do more for your cause then any amount of complaints at the labor office.

However, there's something that bothers me about the Presidents and the staffs letter. What this is essentially comes down to definitions.
I'm sorry that this is slightly long, but please bear with me. Here goes.

Not working when you aren't paid isn't some bamboozling result of not being paid.
The contract, in essence, says; We pay you, you work.
Since we are English teachers, lets look at the definition of employee! Turn with e to; Kernermans English Multilingual Dictionary!

emˈployee, *ˌemployˈee [em-] noun
a person employed for wages, a salary etc

Also said;
Arabic: مَسْتَخْدَم، مُوَظَّف
Chinese (Simplified): 受雇者，雇员
Chinese (Traditional): 受僱者，僱員
Dutch: werknemer
Estonian: töötaja
Finnish: työntekijä
French: employé, *-ée
German: der, *die Arbeitnehmer(in)
Greek: υπάλληλος
Icelandic: starfsmaður
Indonesian: pekerja
Italian: impiegato, dipendente
Japanese: 従業員
Korean: 종업원
Latvian: darbinieks
Polish: pracownik
Romanian: angajat
Russian: служащий
Slovak: zamestnanec, -kyňa
Spanish: empleado
Swedish: anställd
Turkish: çalışan
Whatever language you use; You pay, we work. Simple.

The other issue I take with a letter like this is thus. The problems Nova faces today aren't unforeseen. Rather, they weren't unforeseen by anyone with the facts who chose to look at them. Businesses frequently carry on and hope for the best, but if you deny reality to the point where you can't even pay staff, you've been hoping a little to hard.

When a business reaches the point where it can't pay its staff, rent, or other things of that nature, in large quantities... it has already failed in the most importent area of any buisness, balacing the books. The difficulties today weren't unseen, and were brought about by gross mismanagement. Asking people to "hang in there" when the company is falling apart due to something it brought on itself, is downright odd.

So the company is getting worse because people aren't coming to work. Why? Because they weren't paid. Why? Because the company can't manage itself effectively, in essence. It's not the teachers who lay at the root of this.
The customers pay a company, the company pays for the resources it sells. That's the fundamental relationship between a company and society.
If a company took money from a customer and didn't deliver anything, there's one heck of a hullabaloo, every time. (And major lawsuits!) That is in no way different from taking resources (teachers time) and not paying for them. If you fail in this equation, your companies right to function is basically void.

What is an employee?
Someone who works for money.
What is a company that can't pay for its resources?
Bankrupt.

Nova seems to be in the process of undoing all the goodwill that the Japanese Government has been trying to foster around the world through its (employ em and satellite em back out into the world saying great things about Japan, this raising its image in the world) JET programme over the last 25 years. There are now a few thousand very upset and let down foreigners who will return to their countries saying awful things about Japan, right or wrong - no wonder Sahashi is in hiding and no wonder the media are trying to spin this !

this has been one of the better postings I have seen on these forums recently, without all the insults hurled at people with differing opinions.

Like most people have argued so far, I think everybody should stop going to work. Nova has failed to fulfil its contractual obligations to instructors and staff. When we came here, we did not sign on as volunteers, even volunteers receive some kind of stipend to tide them over. We cannot eat Sahashi's faxes, none of the supermarkets trade in Sahashi's faxes for food, my landlord will not take these as payment. Nova needs to do the right thing by us and either pay us (unlikely) or make the process as painless as possible for instructors to claim UI by declaring bankruptcy sooner rather than later. That Sahashi has allowed things to reach this sorry state is an indictment not only of his (poor) managerial skills but also on the whole system of checks and balances that should have stopped such a breathtaking collapse of the company. Its time for Sahashi to let the ghost of the usagi go and leave it to rest in peace. This bunny is just waiting for the final thud of mud on the coffin.

In this case we were "EMPLOYED." Made use of as a means of instrument: to EMPLOY cunning. ENGAGED, ENGROSSED, HIRED, USED. In general terms it maybe said that to EMPLOY is to devote to one's purpose, to USE is to render subservient to one's purpose, what is USED is viewed as more absolutly an instrument than what is EMPLOYED: as applied to persons , inclines to the derogatory sense; The conspirators USED/EMPLOYED them as a go between.

It`s his fault that we didn`t get paid. It`s not his fault that we don`t have any answers. That is a problem created solely by the teachers that are continuing to allow Sahashi and NOVA to operate without any pay or solid promise of pay. We need to force this choice, if the money can be got, they will get it, and pronto. We are in a position of power if we only act together.

Don`t go in tomorrow.

We will get paid and then we can go about our lives, I`ll even give notice before I quit.
or
We don`t get paid and the company is out of buisness and we go about our lives.

Anything is better than this limbo teritory created by the teachers continuing to go in to work. Please convinve me, as the jstaff have above tried to do, that going in gives me a better chance of seeing my wages in time to save me from homelessness on the 29th of October.

Mon, 10/22/2007 - 21:05 — Alex Case (not verified)

I can totally understand someone staying away from work to teach Sahashi a lesson, to do the right thing, to save their train fares etc, but I really don't see how it can have a practical positive effect, unless bankruptcy of the company is a practical positive effect...

Looking from the outside in, it seems the main difference between the two sides on the "go to work or not" argument are that the people who think you should go in feel it could have some effect. You can call that optimistic, positive, foolish, naive etc. as you wish, but I think everyone should be able to understand that along with people who continue going to work out of a sense of habit or misplaced loyalty, there are those who have looked realistically at the situation and decided the only thing they can do to save the day is to go to work and keep the company struggling through. The main reason not to go to work is because you believe there is no future and you want an early end to your agony, which is also a totally rational, understandable reaction.I jope everyone involved, like most people who have commented here, can see the other side's point of view.

TEFLtastic blog- "All the truth that's fit to teach"- www.tefl.net/alexcase

Nova, take this tie off of me
I can't wear it anymore.
It's gettin' dark, too dark for me to see
I feel like your knockin' on heaven's door.

Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door
Pay,Pay,Pay Pay yeeah
Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door
Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door

Nova, put my students in the ground
I can't teach them anymore.
That stupid c.e.o clown is goin' down
I feel like your knockin' on heaven's door.

Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door
Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door

Pay, Pay, Pay Pay yeeah!

Yeah, I don`t think it`s habbit or mispaced loyalty at all. it is definately this "save the day feeling". But i think this feeling is actually having the effect of helping the company cut some of it`s losses and contine to operate with no accountability to the instructors.
From the other perspective, it`s not a put me put of my agony situation, it`s a pay me situation. Let`s put on some real pressure. this might be what actually saves the company.

To NOVA: Take a couple days and find the funds to pay us. Also, tell us that is what you are doing, make us a promise, pay me half. Do things that managment and the President do when they are really trying to "save the day"

^None of this is happening.^

I`m the optimist, i believe that if we exercise our collective power and refuse to work tomorrow, then we will be promptly paid. And when that happens, I urge you all to return to work and explore your options.

Don`t go in tomorrow

We "The J-staff" want you to "come and go on strike." no work O.K. Show the student and society that it is wrong. Please read the letter again! In japan we have saying to no support, like standing alone with pants pulled down. In english like carpet pulled from underneeth you. Please come and support, together!

Yeah, I don`t think it`s habbit or mispaced loyalty at all. it is definately this "save the day feeling". But i think this feeling is actually having the effect of helping the company cut some of it`s losses and contine to operate with no accountability to the instructors.
From the other perspective, it`s not a put me out of my agony situation, it`s a pay me situation. Let`s put on some real pressure. this might be what actually saves the company.

To NOVA: Take a couple days and find the funds to pay us. Also, tell us that is what you are doing, make us a promise, pay me half. Do things that managment and the President do when they are really trying to "save the day"

^None of this is happening.^

I`m the optimist, i believe that if we exercise our collective power and refuse to work tomorrow, then we will be promptly paid.

are you taking the piss?

"We cannot get people to support and protect our rights without your help and hard work in the branches."

"To instructors who didn't work at the branches today,

We totally understand your situation, but your decision not to work is making our company's recovery worse."

"A Plea to Work"

The letter is imploring us to continue working, right?

I will go in and work tommorrow. My Branch Ikebukuro Honko.
I believe that I will not be paid. So what, I really like my students, my staff and my colleagues. I believe it will be a great day tomorrow.
To all you NOVA Haters: Go and shoot yourself!!

I feel like the letter is saying something more like:

"come and work for as long as we can trick you to and for no pay, while we form a union, maybe. then in a few months, we can strike together, maybe."

Guess what? We`re on strike right now! Join us jstaff! I know it isn`t as easy for you because your contracts are tougher on abscence than ours are and all that. But those contracts can`t be upheld if the company is not meeting it`s obligations to you, right? Like paying you.

I was the president of a small (very) union before, and let me tell you, that takes time. Time we do not have. By the time they stop paying us, we must do something or have some assurance. Our company has given us absolutely no assurances, as the jstaff is well aware.

To the Japanese Staff;

Don`t go in tomorrow. Call in sick.

It will be a general statement from the teachers and staff together that we do not intend to be hoodwinked into working off NOVA debtwhile driving ourselves further into debt.

If I worked at Nova, I would still be going in. I would be actively trying to convince them to become my private students. You guys are sitting on a gold mine! (well, maybe a copper mine..)

So, what are you all NOVA guys and gals gonna do? It seems like there are a fair number of jobs out there with Interact, Peppy Kids, ECC, etc, if you are willing to move. Are you willing to move?

Anyway, I too want to wish you all good luck. Just don't steal my job.

Who really thinks this letter was written independantly by the Japanese staff who have sat there and basically done fuckall to rectify the situation except turning the other cheek... Who thinks this letter was written and distributed to branches without the consent of his majesty.Who thinks monkey nuts's ironius faxes are not holding too much weight these days amongst his foreign staff. You lazy thumb twiddling spineless japanese staff are half the reason a company like nova gets itself into this situation. I think we would all agree that the METI sanctions have hit nova hard. Who was it in the front line selling packages to customers that they knew were completely false? Who was it trying to scam customers out of money when they went to cancel their points? If anyone is blame for Novas dire situation it is the japanese staff. You have allowed the management to tell you what to do and you havent stood up to them, and your spineless attitude has led to a situation which is out of control now. Dont make out foreign staff not coming to work is somehow largely responsible for novas decline, it was destined to go this way because of your spineless attitude. AND NOW UNBELIEVABLY YOU ARE TRYING TO SAY THAT YOUR SPINELESS ATTITUDE THAT GOT US INTO THIS IS SOMEHOW GOING TO GET US OUT OF IT???!!!! ZEN ZEN CHIGAIMASU! OMAE ZETAI WAKARAHEN GAMBATTE KUDASAI NE. for once in your lives get some courage and stand up for yourselves.. where has the samurai spirit gone???? FUCK SAKE...

You won`t be saying such things when you find yourself with an empty pocket.

Or, maybe you have a rich daddy?
...speaking of which... I need to get myself one of those

=^_^=

Not a hater, I just have no food to eat, or train fair because I had to pay rent two times this month. I had to do that becasue I got evicted. I really love my students, staff and all my collegues. Unfortunately, that love may be destroyed by teachers who continue to work. In doing so, they are sending a message to upper management that there are some teachers who will go on teaching for nothing, and so no choice needs to be made becasue they can prolong the non payment into a less bad for Sahashi bankruptcy.
If you consider rallying with us and refusing to work for just one day, tomorrow, to show that we colleagues stick together, then they will cough up those funds and we can begin delivering high quality service to students again.
Tomorrow will be a great day, not because you got to play stalwart hero to your students, but because it will be the day we could all decide to go back to work becasue NOVA folded and had to pay us in order to continue operations. Do it for the students, the teachers, and the staff that you like. This is the productive decision, not going in and painting youself as unique, that`s too easy, but by having the strength of heart to stand together for what is right. For us, for the students, for the staff.
Not a hater, so I won`t shoot myself.
Don`t be a NOBOT.
Ikebukuro Honko is a great school, save it! Don`t go in tomorrow.

You won`t be saying such things when you find yourself with an empty pocket.

Or, maybe you have a rich daddy?
...speaking of which... I need to get myself one of those

=^_^=

I agree that the letter sounds like it may not have actually been written by J staff, but I didn`t want to sound too paranoid. It seems like an attept to provide some feeling that going in is in our best interest. It would be very easy to get me in to work. Pay me tomorrw, pay me half of my pay tomorrow, make me a real promise. Act like I matter. Pay the staff. Give them a promise.

No

a choice must be made
pay or cease to function tomorrow

THE POCKETS ARE EMPTY!!! Like NOW!! Just close nova and give everybody the unemployment insurance, its best for all foreign staff that have been here for more than six months that are not retarded.

My co-worker went to Hello Work with his japanese girlfriend to find out the deal with UI. Basically to get it you need a letter of employment from the company, half is completed by you and half by the company. THEY tick a box as to why you are now unempolyed and send it back to you, when asked what happens if the company is bankrupt and there is nobody at head office to fill out the paper work? Hello work guy said you have to get it from the Lawyers handling the bankruptcy. FU@k said my co-worker. How long will that take? A couple of months was the answer.

If you have some cash saved or PT work to tide you over, SWEET, kickback go snowboarding and wait for the paperwork to lead to your UI. If you've got nothing now and are hoping for UI to pay for your next Nomihodai, dont count on it people. You should really get some solid solid information from your local Hello Work before you make that call.

God Luck guys

Awesome post, i think i saw the same guy near our branch!

I might go in tomorrow and stick my head out the window!
ha ha ha ha ha

as long as you're not some jerk playing a joke, i can help you. i've got a cup of noodles with your name on it. i've also got a place with electricity/hot water--if you don't mind sleeping on the couch--where you can squat for a while. don't give up man. even when you think you're all alone, there are people out there who will help you. if you're serious, let me know. we can work out a way to get in touch. love to ALL of you.

Alot of people have mentioned going to one's embassy or consulate to register a complaint or notify them of the NOVA situation (not being paid)...if someone has done this could you give me information as to who to talk to at the consulate or what section...if we need to bring any info (payslips, gaijin card, etc.)?

Any help would be appreciated.

I hope the Japanese government is forced to look at how all service industry language schools in Japan are run--Nova isn't the only one f'ed up. They're just the first to get caught.

Do the Japanese employees realize that foreign workers in a foreign land have virtually NO support? I kind of think not from fax posted above. It's easy for someone in their own home/country to say things aren't so bad--they have family to fall back on! They aren't really broke when they bank accounts show nothing but zeros. They still have a roof over their heads, food in the fridge, and food to fill their petite tummies! What does a foreigner in Japan with no real friends have? Most likely nothing. I haven't seen any stories of those receiving handouts or other acts of kindness--shame, really.

Has anyone here been put up by Japanese staff? Have they bought you a meal; paid or help pay for transportation for you to go into work? How is it that the school is broke? Do Nova schools not have safes? Can't the school uses these funds to help teachers at least get too and from work? Are the schools themselves offering teachers who have lost their own apartments accommodations in the empty classrooms at night? It may not be comfortable, but at least these schools still have electricity, bathrooms and furniture.

From what I'm hearing or seeing, their is no solidarity among the Japanese side and the Native English teaching side--Nova has segregated its workforce! What the hell?! Nova's not the only company guilty of this by any means. ...just curious, but do/did Nova teachers also receive bonuses or just the staff? If Teachers don't/didn't Nova didn't think much of you when it had money...

I do hope you all get paid on the 25th or whatever the date is now. If not, I think you should, if you can afford it, go to school and offer private lessons to your students. They want to learn English, and you want to survive--it's a win-win situation. You can't go wrong.

Good luck all.

"I am just now checking out their website.
1:23 AM
You will have $600 in your account in a couple of days.
1:24 AM
I'll let you know exactly when."

from my mom

This post is for everyone thinking of appealing to their home country's government through their Embassy or Consulate in Japan. Your experience may be different than mine, however I think what I experienced today was instructive and therefore worth sharing with the people who read posts on this forum.

I went to the US Embassy in Tokyo today and received a rather disappointing, albeit predictable, response.

No matter which direction you approach the Embassy from, once you are within a block of it you will be met by a Tokyo Metropolitan Policeman who will ask you about your business with the Embassy. Ostensibly, this is simply to direct you to the appropriate department when you get inside, though, as I discovered, the police play a second role as gatekeepers.

The officer I met at first asked me, in Japanese, "Which department are you going to? Passport, Visa, etc..." to which I replied, " I want to consult with the embassy about my company and its financial situation." The officer seemed confused and asked me again, but in a different way, which department I wanted to visit. When I offered the same reply, he radioed to a senior officer and then waved me on. I then made my way to the security house, where I was met by the senior officer. He asked me some routine security questions about my belongings and then said "Consult about your company...? Is this a company in Japan?" to confirm what I had told the other officer. I answered "Yes" and went through the metal detectors. When I had passed through them, the senior officer said to me, in Japanese "Ah! I've got it! You want to see a Notary (a Notary is qualified individual who legally witnesses the signing of official documents, such as a passport application, for a fee)! They're already closed for today." I responded that I wanted to consult with someone in American Citizens Services about my company's inability to pay my salary, but the officer, seeming to know what I was after, said "They'll just tell you it's no good (i.e.. not worth pursuing)...[so you might as well not even bother]" I countered by saying "Still, I'd like to ask..." and with that I was allowed to proceed inside the embassy.

When I arrived inside the embassy, I took a number and sat in the waiting area. I approached the service window after my number was called and explained my situation to the Japanese staff member. About halfway through my explanation, he snarled, "NOVA? NOVA? Do you work for NOVA?" I answered in the affirmative and he called over one of his American colleagues, whose demeanor was much more even-handed and empathetic. The American staff member listened to what I had to say and then attempted to discourage me from pursuing the matter further by saying that unpaid salary is a "personal legal problem" and as such, (1) the embassy cannot get involved and (2) the legal fees involved in retaining a lawyer and prosecuting a case against the company would far exceed the amount of money I could hope to recover. Interestingly, on the off chance that I might choose to take legal action despite his discouragements, the staff member then generously provided me with some information about local laywers who speak English, which he said was the "standard response" he was providing to other NOVA Instructors who had e-mailed and / or visited the embassy.

While this may not be true for embassies of other countries, The US Embassy is barred by law from involvement in legal matters pertaining to US Citizens overseas.

See http://travel.state.gov/law/info/retain/retain_714.html for more details. The following is taken from that webpage:

"Officers of the Department of State and U.S. Embassies and Consulates abroad are prohibited by federal regulation from acting as agents, attorneys or in a fiduciary capacity on behalf of U.S. citizens in private legal disputes abroad. (22 CFR 92.81; 10.735-206(a)(7); 72.41; 71.5.)"

Just say you don't have any money and need a ride home, don't complicate the matter. They are there to assist and protect your ass. If they can't do that here, how come they're in Iraq?

wow, that saved me the trip to the embassy

My heart goes out to the teachers and students who got massively rear ended by the Monkey Bridge. As long as the school that you are teaching at is still open why not make some business cards and pass them out to your students (for private lessons). Those students who show up may take you up on it and you (like many entrepenuers) may have the seeds of your very own Eikaiwa school. My friend springboarded his own mini Eikaiwa school (operating from his Danchi apt.) by doing exactly this very same thing. Just a suggestion. As an ex-pat from both Eikaiwa (GEOS) school as well as an ALT my heart goes out to you guys (had some friends in Nova back in the day).

I'm really not surprised at the experience Anon1 had. And I think it has to do with the lack of media coverage of this issue in the States.

I'm Australian. The Australian media (press, TV and radio) have been all over this for weeks. Also you can find media reports from Canada and New Zealand as well.

The governments of these 3 countries have warned potential new recruits to carefully look into the situation before accepting any of from NOVA. Just last week the Foreign Minister of Australia stated his belief that NOVA is going to go under.(this has also been stated in New Zealand and was later reprinted in the Japan Times)Also these countries' governments have asked all expats working for NOVA to get in touch with their embassies and consulates so they can understand the numbers, advise and assist and put together possible action plans.

For other countries, as yet I haven't been able to find any media releases about this situation.

So a suggestion to other countries' expats. Email the editor of the newspaper most people read in your area. Email the TV and radio networks, get them to start covering this issue and then perhaps your governments will start action.

We're all in this together.

Take care everyone.

yep, i'm an american citizen and i feel like the government really doesn't care about the nova situaiton....i also think it is partly due to the non-existant media coverage that it has received.

Its too little too late...If the Jap staff ever try this shit again, and Im there, I will urinate all over them.

It`s clear that the U.S. gov. has no intention of bailing us out, or even helping us in the least (for those of us who want to stay in Japan, not a repatriation loan). To the Aussies, What is your government doing for you exactly? i heard you are being treated really well in this situation because of media coverage and all, but did they give you money to live or anything like that?

How was Ikebukuro Honko Today?

Ike Hon was as always a very nice play to work. Most scheduled instructors came in and worked their normal schedule.
In the end we even got a 10000Yen Cash Advance from our manager.

The United Nations has agreed to provide an air drop of food, clothing and medical supplies at 10 am Wednesday 24th of October, in two locations in Japan. The first will be on Yotsubashi Dori, Osaka, near the MM centre. The second will be near JR Shinjuki station, Shinjuku dori. Please remain calm and take ONLY ONE package, so as to disperse the supplies evenly among you all.

We hope Nova will trade above 35 yen, pay you and provide shelter once all of you have clean clothes a full stomach and no more herpes/crabs/syphillis/typhoid/gonnorhea/etc, etc...

Here is the news report;

OSAKA, Oct 23 (Reuters) - The United Nations' World Food Programme has been forced to air drop food for the first time in Japan after the east Asian nation suffered its worst foreign unemployment crisis in 45 years.

In a statement released late on Tuesday, the WFP said the operation was a desperate last resort to help thousands of people after Nova failed to pay teachers salaries.

"Resorting to food airdrops reflects the severity of the situation ... the worst in 45 years," WFP OSAKA acting country director Baba Ghanoush said.

"There is simply no other way to get survival rations to isolated people."

well then,

tell your piece of shit manager he can give me a ¥300, 000+++ advance. which i am owed.

you are a fuk'n moron if you have been placated by peanuts. which is what will be in your bank account come the 25th.

smarten up. tomorrow, it will 5k. and then on the next day it will be rice and miso soup, which you obviously can't afford to buy yourself.

get a clue.

Please drop five grams of weed also to see me through this troubled time. I can still make my own bong....

I'd be very suspicious of all this UN aid and help etc.
This could be another trick by Biggles Saruhashi to keep the foreign instructors in his pockets just a little longer.

If in doubt consult your Nova instructors guidebook or AT for further information.

The only things I want to see dropping into the streets of the Dotombori tomorrow are Monkey B and Anders L, preferably without parachutes!

dear suspicious,

are you for real? look these words up in your j/e dictionary:

iyami
damasareyasui

you're quite right, this could very well be another dirty trick. but if lack of salary's got you broke and hungry... and desperately hopeful... if you found yourself salivating at even the remote possibility of a food drop... check out this nutritious, cheapo recipe c/o the united nations' world food programme osaka acting country director:

http://vegetarian.about.com/od/saucesdipsspreads/r/babaganoush.htm

goes nice with osembe!

bon appetit!

pt barnum

The report appearing directly above this post, relating to a food air drop to be conducted by the United Nations World Food Programme on behalf of NOVA Instructors is a complete farce and is not to be believed by anyone visiting this website.

That`s great, where did the manager get the money? Did your manager make any statements about a real payday coming soon. I`m anxious to get back to work if I could just pay the train fair and my rent. I guess i`ll need to eat lunch too. But I like natto so it shouldn`t be a big problem.

I'm Australian and I do love Vegimite, but I'm a carnivore! Vegitarians just photosynthesise! When you come to Australia and pass the customs check for food, fruit and vegitables, don't forget to put on some sunscreen, you might wither and burn, and don't forget to put some manure in your shoe, might make you grow!

anon1,

err, exposing the u.n. hoax was the whole point of the post "directly" above yours. incredible anyone would fall for that, isn't it? hysteria prevails, i guess. nonetheless, i still recommend the recipe in the link. chou oishii!

itadakimasu!

pt barnum

very eloquent, aussie carnivore. most of us would rather have shit in our shoes than have shit for br... ah, never mind...

You leave your skid-marks all over this blog, easy to identify. Go eat "natto sandwiches" bt~, Your Romanised Japanese is very impressive you half-breed!?!

I dont understand why every chose NOVA to begin with ?

I have been working for the leading English conversation school now for 7years and have only PRAISE and RESPECT for the company I work for.

I think its time for all you NOVA teachers to change eikaiwas !

good luck

Are you an "every" too? As I thought Nova was the leading English school until the recently.
And on a heavier note. I was told by our manager today ,that unless we get paid, all Kanagawa schools would close at the end of this month until further notice.
Take it as you may.

Both of you! Don't forget this is an English Teacher's hangout!

English Teachers' hangout ....i think you mean...wanker! stop correcting grammar when you have no clue.

and "s" for an "S" !

Yeah, other Anonymous, because the Japanese staff are just out to get you. They hate you...because you're a foreigner.

...Or...you could believe that the Japanese staff haven't gotten paid for almost a month, and have thus suffered much more than you without complaint. Whether a benefit or a drawback in life, the Japanese are willing to put in work to help other people - in this case, the students. I know it's sacrilige to you to work for anything but money, but the staff are. I'm quite sure that throughout your stay at Nova, the Japanese staff have always been kind to you. Then one writes a fax that you don't like and you'll urinate on your own staff.

It's pretty true what people say about most Nova teachers. They are crappy people who can't get a job anywhere else. The worst thing about them are their souls - black as tar. But I am (or was) a Nova teacher and at least I could say that I had more respect for people (students and staff) than people like you ever will.

I hope that your antisocial mediocrity takes you places.

now you have really lost it.

anyhow;; THis WhOLe nOvA situTIOn is DonE.

The whole Nova teacher comradery seems so cult-like to the average outsider.
They always talk in this language of abbreviations when referring to co-workers' jobs. (ie: The TT - titled teachers or JS - Japanese staff.)

I often get them mixed up with the Mormons. How come a Japanese man doesn't look retarded in a suit? The westerners should teach them a few things in order to style-them-down. First off, I guess a backpack is required.
The women teachers don't do much better with their stretchy JC Penny pant suits.

These Nova drones really stand out and are kind of creepy. They hang out with each other often and have parties where shop is only discussed.
They drown themselves in this company that really has no significance in the big picture.
I know a few very decent ones who moved on immediately after this thing fell. They share a lot of the same views as I.

But the majority of these leeches who have no life outside Nova, except for at the local bar, just keep regurgitating the same rumors and crap. "Where is my money?". Well it is probably gone. Smarten up. move on. Stop the useless ramblings and distance yourselves from each other...
FOR OUR SAKE!!!

SITUATION .....Go to edit...Open...Click; Check Spelling as You Type.

Mon, 10/29/2007 - 09:59 — Anonymous (not verified)

STOP wasting your time with payday loan broker services and sites! Come directly to www.CheckIntoCash.com for your Payday Cash Advance needs and cut out the middle man.

Check Into Cash is a proven industry leader since 1993 and has over 1,240 cash advance centers in 31 states.

LJ is currently using a spam filter, which may eat legitimate comments, particularly those containing URLs. If you are having trouble posting a comment, email LJ.

© Let's Japan.org 2000-2007


Copyright 2022 letsjapan.org