Deeper and Deeper

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.