“A perfect money making machine”: Life as a language teacher in Slovenia

management training meme

An account from a German language teacher about working in Slovenia focusing on, in particular, the perils of so-called “freelance” contracts.

Submitted by Angry Language… on November 13, 2014

The Angry Language Brigade is happy to host this account, the first we've posted from a language worker who is not an English teacher. Interestingly, this teacher faced many of the same obstacles as English teachers here in the UK and, in particular, the instability and lack of benefits that comes with schools intentionally misclassifying us as “freelance workers”.

If you are suffering under a crappy freelance contract and have a story to share or, better yet, are looking to fight back collectively with your fellow language workers, don't hesitate to get in contact us here at The Angry Language Brigade via private message or at TEFLSolidarity (at) gmail.com.

A final, short disclaimer from us: we don't agree 100% with all of the politics of this piece. In particular, we are probably a bit more critical of the former Yugoslavia than the author. However, the author's experience resonates with us and, indeed, will resonate language teachers the world over.

I worked in a language school in Slovenia, a small country in the south east of Europe. Slovenia has everything: mountains for hiking, the seaside for swimming, beautiful landscapes, and good food from local farmers. What the country does not have are jobs. Thousands of young, well-educated people leave the country each year to find work, often in German-speaking countries.

That is how I made a living for 1 year: I was teaching German, as a German native. I do not have a specific education in teaching, but a year prior to going to Slovenia, I began organizing my own classes teaching basic German.

I took it seriously because I really wanted the participants to get the opportunity to learn something. And at the same time it allowed me to improve my team building and guiding skills. So I continued with that in Ljubljana.

I began applying to schools in Slovenia. When I got a response, of course none of the schools offered me a proper contract, only teaching hours on a “freelance” basis. At first I got 9,6 Euros per 45 minutes. Later it changed to 6 Euros because the government introduced higher taxes on these sort of contracts. And, just so we don't forget, this amount only covers teaching time - no preparation time, no time for preparing myself or driving to the lessons. Considering the lessons were all over the city, this was no small matter.

The courses took place between 7am and 9.30pm. So imagine: for barely 600 Euros a month (if you're lucky) you are working very hard. And the worst thing is that with this sort of contract the employee does not have rights to paid sick leave or any sort of social security. The employer does not have to guarantee anything. But the employee has to guarantee that he or she is providing good work, prepared, and always on time. The employee is exploited, squeezed and left alone.

One school in particular is a “good” memory for me. They always presented a high image of themselves as international and open because they had native teachers. At the same time, they exploit each one of their teachers.

During my time there I got told a number of times that I was just a beginner and lacked experience. Yet, it wasn't a problem for them to send me to a very important business German course at a well-known company where the participants were quite demanding. My feeling is that the boss goes to specific management seminars where they learn this sort of behaviour, like:

“Tell your employees that they are not good enough! Tell them that they are just beginners and never tell them that they've done anything well! Keep them down, so they will do everything you want without demanding more money or better working conditions”.

Whenever I had a meeting with the boss she arrived late. One time I had a meeting with her and when I arrived, she wasn't there. So another person from the office called her and it turned out that she was sick and had forgotten the meeting. Guess what? The next time I saw her she told me that she had a bad cold from the air conditioning in Dubai, where she had been for a meeting. My guess is that this is another one of those pieces of advice she got during management training:

“Do never show up in time when you have a meeting with one of your employees! Do not show them any respect! Show them that they have to wait for you and not the other way around! And if you do not show up at all and tell something from a place which sounds important to them so they will have even more respect!”

She was always smiling and talked a lot so that you would forgot or would not have enough time for your questions which you'd had in mind. She counted on nobody being able to refuse her anything.

This tactic worked with most of the teachers. You should know that Slovenia is a country where people do not go on to the streets very often. In the last couple of years there were some demonstrations but they were not consistent enough and in the end did not change anything. Mostly people swallow their anger. Unfortunately, you can feel it when you speak to them. Employers are not used to employees demanding anything. They are used to employees taking everything without question.

This was also the case with this particular language school. Just think about this: all the teachers had to sign a disclaimer confirming we would not teach clients from the school and things like that, but it also said that we couldn't say anything about the relation between ourselves as teachers and the school. They wanted to avoid the teachers talking about their salaries with each other, which happened some time ago and it turned out that not everybody was getting the same. I was not at the school at this point, but I could guess this is part of the reason they wrote into the disclaimer - to basically prevent the teachers from discussing anything connected with the school.

For me the conditions were unbearable. I remember thinking that, for the same amount, I could be working in a German supermarket with less stress. Having to prepare lessons each day and then be on time in all different places all across the city – rain, snow, or shine – only added to the stress.

On top of all this, I had like four different meetings with the boss just to discuss what my hourly payment would be. She barely provided me with any numbers. Then one of the admin staff gave me yet another number. So I asked my boss about this and she tried to turn the table so that I would have to justify myself for not being clear, a desperate attempt to turn the attention away from herself. I think such behaviour is always a sign that the person knows what’s going on is just attempting to manipulate you.

Part of the school's plan was that I would start taking teaching lessons at the school. They pushed me into it and wanted me to pay for half the course. (Just think about this: They did not have to pay anything because it was their teachers who were doing it and in their rooms, so at the end they would even earn something from their own teachers teaching the other teachers – a perfect money making machine). In the end, I only had time to attend half the course because I was already taking another course focused teaching young learners. But the school still promised me that I would get a certificate, but only after one more year of teaching for them.

At that point I thought I would stay one more year in Slovenia anyway and would want to continue teaching, so it would be fine. But after digging deeper I found out that the certificate would not actually include that I'd completed the whole course.

I mean, what can I do with half a certificate? What would other schools think about it? The best part was when the boss herself said to me: “Come on, at the end of the day, nobody knows a certificate from our school anyway.”

Another tough story was when they asked me about my schedule and I told them that I was also working for other schools and they said that they didn't want that since they were “investing” in me with letting me pay for “only” half the teaching course. They did not have to pay any money for these courses and yet, at the same time, I had to promise always be free, awaiting their offers for work.

And what if they couldn't offer me enough classes? What if I didn't get enough work and couldn't pay my bills? That was a hard lesson for me to learn: these people see employees as cockroaches to be exploited.

Back to the course: I was still thinking that it would be nice to participate in a course about how to teach German and, so, I decided to pay the whole course. This meant that I would get the certificate immediately and would not have to wait a year to get it (and, even then, only half of it.) The boss was not amused since we had agreed on something else before – that I would take half and pay half and continue for one year working for them – but she realized that I was not planning to stay. So she emailed saying that under these circumstances the school did not want to continue working with me. I know it was on a short notice from my side, but what was in it for me? There were no guarantees for me whatsoever and I had to promise everything.

My thinking now goes a bit like this: if they were so ready to get rid of me, it was because they realized I was a potential troublemaker.

I have to admit that at first after I read that email I was a bit down and felt bad about myself, that it was my fault for not succeeding. In the end, it worked out for the best. Why should I work in such a bad atmosphere of exploitation, with absolutely no benefits, and a minimum payment that barely allowed me to pay the bills?

This is what the bosses want us to think. They want the workers to feel small and worthless and not to connect with each other. This is another thing which is visible in Slovenia. I had a colleague with whom I spent some time talking about the school's conditions and the point was that he was so afraid to lose his teaching hours (“hours” because I cannot say job as it wasn’t a job) that he even denied knowing that I had left the school when the topic was raised by another colleague.

This is how the system works: by separating each one of us from our colleagues. When you are standing alone it is harder to negotiate for better wages or defend our rights as workers.

We have a minority of people owning so much that they will never ever in their lives be able to spend all their wealth and yet the majority of us are unable to pay the bills.

And remember, Slovenia wasn't always like this. During its time as part of Yugoslavia, Slovenia had a strong working class movement with strong unions. The capitalist businesses did their best to destroy the unions and workers' association. Within 10 years this beautiful country went down and there is no recovery in sight. Remember, this is in Europe. The next country could be yours!

Comments

comm

9 years 11 months ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by comm on November 29, 2014

This article is full of bs. Worked in Slovenia for many years and have totally opposite experience, especially when it comes to employees complaining over their jobs or payments. Also, it is very difficult to lay of an empolyee without him eventually winning the battle in court and you paying him a nice severance. So please don't generalize based on your unpleasant experience.

Fleur

9 years 11 months ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by Fleur on November 29, 2014

comm

Worked in Slovenia for many years and have totally opposite experience

Were you working as a freelancer? Or did you have a proper employee contract? Because if it was the former - which the writer of this article specifically says that they were - then it's an almost universal experience of being treated like shit, having little recourse to complain and being scammed out of pay, and it doesn't really matter which country you're in, or which field of work you're freelancing in.
You said -

it is very difficult to lay of an employee without him eventually winning the battle in court and you paying him a nice severance

This isn't generally the experience of people working on freelance contracts. It's kind of the whole point of employing people on a freelance basis - you don't have to give them the same rights and benefits.

comm

9 years 11 months ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by comm on November 30, 2014

My point was he is generalizing and making conclusions without substance.

I was referring to:
Employers are not used to employees demanding anything. They are used to employees taking everything without question.

This is how the system works: by separating each one of us from our colleagues. When you are standing alone it is harder to negotiate for better wages or defend our rights as workers.

Doesn't seem this goes only to freelancing, especially when he talks about trade unions. And like I said, my experience was completely opposite, I thought Slovenians are complaining too much.

We have a minority of people owning so much that they will never ever in their lives be able to spend all their wealth and yet the majority of us are unable to pay the bills.

I was surprised, but Slovenia has the lowest income inequality in the world therefore the statement above doesn't make much sense. Please see link below:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2059891/US-income-inequality-highest-worlds-rich-countries.html

See around 15 years ago I met an English teacher from Canada, who worked for a private language school in Slovenia's capitol Ljubljana. When I asked him how does he like it, he said his living standard as an English teacher wouldn't be any higher in Canada compared to Slovenia. And guess what, he stayed in Slovenia and has now own language school.

My point is that the author of the article is generalizing based on his unpleasant experience. I am aware working on freelance contract is no fun, however he is making some general conclusions which are simply not accurate, especially given the fact that the base for his conclusions seems to be his unpleasant experience only.

And back to your question, I didn't work as a freelancer, however my position allowed me to work with quite a few of them and a lot of them had pretty generous contracts. Of course I am not saying that's the case everywhere, I'm just trying to present a different point of view here.

Chilli Sauce

9 years 11 months ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by Chilli Sauce on November 30, 2014

com

Worked in Slovenia for many years and have totally opposite experience, especially when it comes to employees complaining over their jobs or payments.

You were saying something about generalizing experiences?

comm

Also, it is very difficult to lay of an empolyee without him eventually winning the battle in court and you paying him a nice severance.

Also you want to talk about BS, I've lived in three different countries on three different continents and in each one I've been told how difficult it is to sack an employee and how the law and the courts are so biased against the poor employers.

Comm, have you ever actually tried taking your employer to court for wrongful dismissal? Try that and then come back and talk to me.

Chilli Sauce

9 years 11 months ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by Chilli Sauce on November 30, 2014

comm

I was surprised, but Slovenia has the lowest income inequality in the world therefore the statement above doesn't make much sense.

Not only is the first part of this sentence untrue, but income inequality is in fact increasing in Slovenia:

Ed

9 years 11 months ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by Ed on November 30, 2014

Edit: Cross-posted with Chilli, sorry.

No time to really go into it but just a couple of things jumped out at me:

comm

I was surprised, but Slovenia has the lowest income inequality in the world therefore the statement above doesn't make much sense.

Income inequality is only one type of inequality. Another significant one is wealth inequality (which refers to total value of assets, pension, property, stocks etc). So your link doesn't really contradict the quote that you pulled out as its still possible to have significant income equality while a minority 'own so much that they will never ever in their lives be able to spend all their wealth while the majorityare unable to pay bills'.

comm

See around 15 years ago I met an English teacher from Canada, who worked for a private language school in Slovenia's capitol Ljubljana. When I asked him how does he like it, he said his living standard as an English teacher wouldn't be any higher in Canada compared to Slovenia. And guess what, he stayed in Slovenia and has now own language school.

A few things here: firstly, I'm sure there do exist such TEFL jobs in different parts of the world. But to generalise your friend's experience (from 15 years ago) seems no different from accusations you make about the author generalising from their own experience. The only difference that I would highlight, however, is that in my experience of the industry most freelance teachers never open their own schools, some have better or worse pay and most have shitty managers. Other readers can draw their own conclusions about which experience they feel is better to generalise from but I think my choice would be obvious.

comm

And back to your question, I didn't work as a freelancer, however my position allowed me to work with quite a few of them and a lot of them had pretty generous contracts. Of course I am not saying that's the case everywhere, I'm just trying to present a different point of view here.

Of course, and you're welcome to, and no one's trying to have a go at Slovenia as some uniquely exploitative country. But when you say you've worked with lots of freelancers, I think its important to ask: 'which ones?' A freelance architect is not the same as a freelance English teacher (who's only reason for being freelance is because of the absolute disregard of TEFL bosses for even basic legal rights).

Ewa

9 years 11 months ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by Ewa on December 1, 2014

@ comm: I wonder in which position you worked in and in which year?

Slovenia is going down the stream. Everybody there knows it and is trying to squeeze out as much as possible if they are in the position to. The boss of the mentioned language school seems to be one of them and probably does not have a bad life. But this article is not in favour for them.

Slovenia's debt is growing each year. The politician's are trying to at least get money in, to get their salaries each month by selling off and privatizing the country's last resources. That means the poorest becoming even poorer by paying more for water, electricity, food...you name it. So they will be even more desperate to find a job and would work for even less. And so a cheap labour force country is created, right next to it's rich neighbour Austria who is already taking advantage of it. Which then creates again the stereotypical nationalist thinking in people, like "fucking foreigners, they are taking our jobs". And so on and so forth.

And as you could read in the article: People do actually work for 600 Euro already. Probably the payment will decrease even more. In this regard I wonder how dare you to write such a bs:

"Also, it is very difficult to lay of an employee without him eventually winning the battle in court and you paying him a nice severance."

If you are making a living somehow with a small salary and then your boss decides not to pay you, of course you have the money and time to immediately get yourself a lawyer and you will go through years of court procedure. And it does not matter that at the same time you will probably have to find another job and you will be stressed out from that and from not having enough money and it is not a problem to be involved in a lawsuit at the same time, where you don't know if you will have to pay that as well at the end...No prob!
*irony*

That people miss out on empathy for others that is the real tragedy in our world.

Ewa

9 years 10 months ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by Ewa on January 22, 2015

At the end nobody is to blame, because we are all part of a system which creates such situations and makes us feel bad.