I arrived in the UAE in August 2011 and taught for a year in
East Camel Funk, about 40 minutes from Abu Dhabi. In September 2012, I moved to
Al Ain and taught for a few months. Al
Ain is in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, about 60 minutes away from Abu Dhabi.
Half-way through that school year I moved to a school in Dubai and obtained
housing in Sharjah. This is about 75 minutes away from Abu Dhabi. For September
2013, I have accepted a position teaching at a well-respected private school in
Sharjah, staying in my current housing in Sharjah. This is about 90 minutes
from Abu Dhabi.
I continue to addressing the distance from Abu Dhabi as this
is where my social life, my weekends, my non-working life, are centered. Yet, I
keep ending up farther and farther away. A friend stated recently that by
August 2014 I will be in Umm Al Quwain.
The school where I have worked since February 2013 has done
everything that people warn will happen when someone accepts a job overseas.
There is a plethora of small things they have done but I’m just going to complain
about the biggies on this blog. Let me say in advance, these situations
occurred in violation of UAE Labour Law. This IS NOT the norm.
What do you mean
you’re holding my passport? Yes, they tried to pull this. I discovered that
my Residence Visa had been processed a week prior and yet I still did not have
my passport. Following the chain of command, I asked the principal…..”the
company holds your passport, call HR“. Thus,
I called HR…….””the company holds your passport”. Luckily, in walked the Operations Manager
while I was calling the US Consulate. I
smiled and reminded her that I am a US citizen and that if my passport was not
in my hands by Monday (this was Thursday), that I would be addressing the situation
with my Embassy. Needless to say I received my passport, along with a story about how I
MISUNDERSTOOD….…..”we only hold the Philippine, Indian, Pakistani, and African
passports” . Wow! It is so nice to hear
that you discriminate with respect to your illegal employment practices.
What do you mean I
have to use your bank? After having submitted my banking details TWICE and
still receiving my pay in cash, I was advised that the company uses
International Bank of Boroda and that if I did not switch to that bank, MY bank
would charge me 50 dirhams per pay.
Really? Being as that I am an American
and we don’t accept things that don’t make sense, I went to my bank. My bank,
the largest in the country, explained how my COMPANY is charged 50 dirhams per
salary deposited due to a government decree and that they were apparently
trying to pass this charge onto me. Just
to play Devil’s Advocate, I checked out the Humpty Dumpty Bank: no debit cards,
astronomical international transfer fees, and cannot use the ATM card in North or South America. I took a pass on Humpty Dumpty and advised HR that they
were not to pass the fees onto me. Late Note: I learned last week that though ALL of the other employees changed banks, they are being charged a 20 dirhams per pay fee that the bank stated "your employer refuses to pay".
Amazingly enough, I did pass my probationary period. LOL The fact is that I can teach and I do it
well! I managed those 3-4 year old students without whining every day that I need another
assistant or less students (not that I am pointing fingers). I dealt with the
autistic boy who should have had a one-on-one ABA Assistant, the 4 who were not
yet potty trained, the Sociopath in Training aka Mr. Big Head, and being the
only native English speaker in the ENTIRE SCHOOL.
As of this posting, they still have not accepted my
resignation, though I have started working in another school. They have not
paid my August Salary, which I am entitled to AND I AM BROKE. Most importantly,
they have not canceled my Visa, making it impossible for my new employer to obtain
a Work Permit or move forward with the Visa process. I have been called in twice for meetings in
which the Operations Manager attempts to bully me into returning. Unfortunately this is what has succeeded for
them in the past. I would hazard a guess that they will never hire another
American, or at least not a Jersey Girl!
Luckily, though the US Embassy does not get involved in labor disputes, they do get involved with Passport and Visa issues.
