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Happy Labor Day To English Teachers Being Exploited!

Posted byNguyen Ayi

By Nguyen Thinh

There is a growing concern about English centers in Vietnam using part-time workers to skirt labor laws. By treating these workers as independent contractors instead of employees, these centers can avoid paying benefits and proper salaries. This not only exploits the workers but also creates an uneven playing field for those English centers that do follow labor laws and pay their employees fairly.

It is also a common practice within these centers to schedule part-time teachers with the hours many countries in Asia consider full-time teaching hours. The centers often require unpaid training hours and require daily availability.

The use of part-time workers also affects the quality of education provided by these English centers. As part-time workers, these teachers may not have the same level of commitment and investment in their students as full-time employees.

Furthermore, the high turnover rate of part-time workers can result in inconsistency and instability in the center’s curriculum and teaching methods.

English centers in Vietnam must follow labor laws and treat their workers fairly. This includes providing benefits and paying payroll taxes as required by law. Additionally, centers should invest in their employees by offering paid training and development opportunities, as well as fair wages and job security. By doing so, English centers can not only improve the quality of education they provide but also create a positive and sustainable work environment for their employees.

Currently, lacking any oversight, most English centers in Vietnam have become a Ponzi scheme for the owners, investors, and board members while the parents, students, and teachers are left behind.

Expat VoicesTravel
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Alternatives To The Moc Bai Border Run

Posted byNguyen Ayi


by Joe Fotalatee

Physiologically drained from not belonging to what you thought was home, you are once again nauseous being shuffled off a van 600 yards from the Cambodian border. The expensive guide, who has only provided transport, tells you to be at the same stand with overpriced coconuts around lunchtime.

The sun beats down on your red-faced, balding head as you sweat not from the heat, but not knowing if the customs officer at the gates of this barren border will ask for “coffee money”. A concrete wall is off in the distance, and you see a casino van driving towards the desolate horizon. You wonder if you would be better off being one of the casino workers stuffed inside.

An amateur, younger traveler has attached to you and he’s projecting all of his anxiety outward, and he looks as defeated as the Rooster losing the cock fight on the side of the road. You walk faster to create some distance. You don’t want to hear what kind of special person this vagabond was back home.

Feeling disabled, you climb the ramp versus taking the stairs up the prison-like entrance, wondering how you’ll be sodomized while an official in a blue suit wants to take your passport. You recognize the con man from the last dozen border runs, but don’t bother warning the others behind you because it is their turn to learn how humanity will cease to exist in your worst moments here at the border of hell and Moc Bai.

You block out the rest from the gangster lady with the scar on her neck, who cut you with a thousand passports, which made you remain next in line for about two hours. You try to forget the demand for a bribe and the passport being thrown … Read more

Expat VoicesSatire
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Aging Expat “Loves His Teaching Job”

Posted byNguyen Ayi



Satire by Joe Fotalattee

Hugh Jaynus, 55, has been living in Vietnam for 15 years and has no regrets. Jaynus was previously a financial planner in New Orleans and discovered English teaching when he came here in 2007.

“I spent a few years paying into Social Security and retirement, and it was nice to let go of my nine-to-five.”

Jaynus now teaches six days a week and uses most of his free time for lesson planning and grading homework.

“I always tell people, they can do this, too. I love it!”

Jaynus uses the foreign tax income credit and brags that he hasn’t had to pay taxes in over a decade. “I can save about $300 a month, and helped my girlfriend’s family buy a little plot of coffee land.” Jaynus wasn’t able to point out the land on a map for The Beat but says he has seen pictures of it. “I just have to pay another $3,000 and they’ll send pictures of the Red Book,” Jaynus explained through a persistent cough.

Jaynus says he lives like a king in Vietnam, but hasn’t been able to find the right cleaner for his 3BR apartment he shares with two other English teachers.

His previous career provided Jaynus with medical, paid vacation, training, support services, and a pension, which he is happy to have left all behind.

“I no longer think about the old career or my future, it is great to be in the present moment.” Jaynus says a gratitude journal helps him stay humble as he risks his life through chaotic traffic traveling from school to school on his own time.

“I just love it!”

Expat VoicesOpinion
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Harry Returns Home

Posted byNguyen Ayi

After over a decade in Vietnam, this ex-pat shares his repatriation experiences and cites better jobs and reconnecting with family as motivators to move home.

By Harry Hodge

This is how it’s been going since we moved to Canada just over five months ago, my first time living here since 2010.

My family (My and our kids Avery and Payton) had planned to make an earlier return, circa 2020, but of course, the old pandemic situation was an issue. In addition, after more than a decade in Vietnam, I had become accustomed to life there and worried how things would go should we move to Ontario. My father and stepmom are in Toronto, my mom is in Port Hope, and I grew up in Ottawa so I have friends there, making it the logical destination. Work-wise, it also seemed to have the most job postings and opportunities for me.

Returning to the Homeland
Being entrenched at my school and occupying a position of middle management, we had a number of reasons to stay where we were. While the hotel business, where my wife had been working, suffered greatly during COVID, education kept on chugging along – albeit with a forced move online. My children also benefited from the arrangement as I had a substantial discount for their tuition, and, as an employee, I could stroll by their classrooms whenever I wanted to check in to see how they were doing. Things weren’t perfect (as in any workplace) but all things being equal, there was no need to move elsewhere.

Except – there was. Almost 12 years overseas and you start to see all the life events from your homeland that you’re absent for: My grandmother’s funeral; my friend’s weddings (and some divorces); and mainly time spent with my parents whom … Read more

Expat VoicesSatire
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Groundbreaking Industrial Cafe Opens In District 1

Posted byNguyen Ayi

Satire by Joe Fotalattee

Cafe Box, a modern yet sleek cafe, opened today in the Bin Chanh Ward of District 1, with an industrial theme. Owner Nguyen Chanh describes the move as groundbreaking, “We have never seen so little effort put into design and aesthetics before, as we did nothing other than gutting the building of all original soul.”

Cafe Box is not the first industrial-themed cafe in Saigon and it won’t be the last. Notable homogenized factory-inspired cafes include The Coffee House and Be Mind.

“Sure they were the first, but now there’s a multitude of options of people willing to be surrounded with concrete and glass as if they were at a human zoo or Federal minimum security prison,” said customer Tammy Pon. Pon now patronizes both the Coffee House and Cafe Box.

The best part according to Pon, is that no one even looks or talks to one another, and they all have their heads in their phones. “I think when you combine the modern look with some earbuds it is synergistic, it says “Don’t talk to me, I have no taste and no social skills.” However, many customers still choose to play their music and mean TikTok videos as loud as possible in an attempt to stand out from the zombies entering their own cafe coffins.

Chanh explained the holistic approach to his brand, “We wanted something that captured the essence of our brand. We plan on putting as much effort into the service and the product. We didn’t even buy a can of paint for this place and not a single plant. Pointing to a mold stain on the wall, “That’s the original concrete exposed there!”

Now that the local community has moved to live with the pandemic, Chanh is amazed at his continued success. … Read more

Expat VoicesSatire
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White Savior Complex Leads To First “Real” Cinnabon in Vietnam

Posted byNguyen Ayi

Satire By Joe Fotalattee

Larry Chave, 35, from Burt Korn, Alabama first arrived in Ho Chi Minh as a tourist in 2012. “From the first moment I stepped foot in the bustling alleyways with a plethora of food stalls, I didn’t see one Cinnabon.”

Larry previously visited impoverished nations in Africa and thought that he could change the world if the fried dough with sugar on top was prepared in the “correct way”.

It first started as a hobby for Larry as he made a few Cinnabons in his toaster over in his apartment in Thu Duc. “It was really difficult at first because there are no ovens in Vietnam,” Larry told The Beat.

Larry was determined to get the “correct” flaking of the dough while baking and began sharing the cinnamon buns with some of his NGO friends. “I even suggested they could do a white paper on exploiting low labor costs, because I would never be able to have an employee in my own country.”

Yet, Larry does not currently have staff and hopes to hire some soon. This doesn’t stop Larry from describing himself as an entrepreneur, CEO, and sole proprietor. “After a few more of these visa border runs, I plan to expand into other markets like Hanoi.” Larry spoke optimistically about the future, “A lot of people call me the King of The Cinnabon, but you can just call me Larry.”

Expat VoicesNewsOpinion
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Easier Work Permit Exemptions In Hanoi

Posted byNguyen Ayi

 

Easier Work Permit Exemptions In Hanoi

Opinion by Joe Fotalattee

The Hanoi Department of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs streamlined the approval process for hiring foreigners in recent years.

Most foreigners who want to work in Hanoi must apply for a work permit, which is a legal document that allows them to be paid by an employer in the capital city.

As stated in Decree No. 152, foreign nationals having a work permit exemption certificate may work in Hanoi without a work permit. This certificate can be used to apply for a temporary residence card and is equivalent to a work permit. It is valid for a maximum of two years.

The following categories provide a work permit exemption:

– People from outside Vietnam who are in charge of running foreign NGOs or international organizations in Hanoi.

– Foreigners employed and foreigner experts in Hanoi for less than three months, and working to solve challenging technical issues that cannot be resolved by Vietnamese.

– Foreign nationals with valid passports employed by governments, political parties, or other organizations with sociopolitical goals.

– Foreign nationals who have received authorization from the Ministry of Education and Training to conduct research and teach in Hanoi.

15,000 foreign workers by more than 10,200 businesses were employed in Hanoi in 2022. The department checked 20 businesses for adherence to the law regarding the hiring of foreign workers.

Hanoi Times reported the department held a training conference on the issuance of permits for foreign workers on December 20, 2022, for 120 organizations and businesses in the city.

 

This post has been updated as it may have misstated the current status of gay marriage in Vietnam, or not.