{"id":13814,"date":"2016-02-13T11:27:29","date_gmt":"2016-02-13T21:27:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=13814"},"modified":"2016-02-13T11:43:03","modified_gmt":"2016-02-13T21:43:03","slug":"alts-outsourced-english-teachers-earning-slave-wages-or-less-working-for-japanese-public-schools","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=13814","title":{"rendered":"ALTs (&#8220;outsourced&#8221; English teachers) earning slave wages (or less) working for Japanese public schools (plus an aside on odd Japan Times editorial bias)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Books, eBooks, and more from Dr. ARUDOU, Debito (click on icon):<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/handbook.html\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-11452\" title=\"Guidebookcover.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/Guidebookcover.jpg\" alt=\"Guidebookcover.jpg\" width=\"75\" height=\"100\" \/><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/japaneseonly.html\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-11335\" src=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/japaneseonlyebookcovertext-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"japaneseonlyebookcovertext\" width=\"75\" height=\"100\" \/><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/handbook.html\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-thumbnail wp-image-1298\" title=\"Handbook2ndEdcover.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/Handbook2ndEdcover.jpg\" alt=\"Handbook for Newcomers, Migrants, and Immigrants to Japan\" width=\"75\" height=\"100\" \/><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/inappropriate.html\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-8577\" title=\"inappropriatecoverthumb150x226\" src=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/inappropriatecoverthumb150x226.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"75\" height=\"100\" \/><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/japaneseonly.html#japanese\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-thumbnail wp-image-1700\" title=\"jobookcover\" src=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/05\/jobookcover-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\u300c\u30b8\u30e3\u30d1\u30cb\u30fc\u30ba\u30fb\u30aa\u30f3\u30ea\u30fc\u3000\u5c0f\u6a3d\u5165\u6d74\u62d2\u5426\u554f\u984c\u3068\u4eba\u7a2e\u5dee\u5225\u300d\uff08\u660e\u77f3\u66f8\u5e97\uff09\" width=\"75\" height=\"100\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.cinemabstruso.de\/strawberries\/main.html\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-2735\" title=\"sourstrawberriesavatar\" src=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/03\/sourstrawberriesavatar.jpg\" alt=\"sourstrawberriesavatar\" width=\"75\" height=\"100\" \/><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?cat=32\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-4921\" title=\"debitopodcastthumb\" src=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/11\/debitopodcastthumb.jpg\" alt=\"debitopodcastthumb\" width=\"100\" height=\"100\" \/><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=12473\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-thumbnail wp-image-12474\" src=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/FodorsJapan2014cover-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"FodorsJapan2014cover\" width=\"75\" height=\"100\" \/><\/a><br \/>\nUPDATES ON TWITTER: arudoudebito<br \/>\nDEBITO.ORG PODCASTS on iTunes, subscribe free<br \/>\n&#8220;LIKE&#8221; US on Facebook at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/debitoorg\">http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/debitoorg<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/embeddedrcsmJapan\">https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/embeddedrcsmJapan<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/handbookimmigrants\">http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/handbookimmigrants<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/JapaneseOnlyTheBook\">https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/JapaneseOnlyTheBook<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/BookInAppropriate\">https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/BookInAppropriate<\/a><br \/>\nIf you like what you read and discuss on Debito.org, please consider helping us stop hackers and defray maintenance costs with a little donation via my webhoster:<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.dreamhost.com\/donate.cgi?id=17701\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/secure.newdream.net\/donate4.gif\" alt=\"Donate towards my web hosting bill!\" border=\"0\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<i>All donations go towards website costs only. Thanks for your support!<\/i><\/p>\n<p>Hi Blog. \u00a0This post deals with Government-sponsored slave wages (or worse) for NJ educators within the Japanese public school system through the <a href=\"http:\/\/fukuoka.generalunion.org\/alt\/index.html\">cost-cutting &#8220;Assistant Language Teachers&#8221; (ALTs)\u00a0&#8220;outsourcing&#8221; system&#8211;a backdoor way for local governments to\u00a0get cheaper JETs<\/a> than having to go through the national government&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/JETjohodaikiyo999.html\">JET Programme<\/a> (where wages and work conditions are more fixed at a higher standard). \u00a0The cost-cutting for the ALTs has gotten to the point (inevitably) where the ALTs are no longer being paid a living wage. \u00a0Here&#8217;s the math, courtesy of the <a href=\"http:\/\/fukuoka.generalunion.org\">Fukuoka General Union<\/a>:<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/7G95K0vjB3A\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><br \/>\n<strong>Courtesy of Fukuoka General Union and Chris Flynn<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=7G95K0vjB3A\">https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=7G95K0vjB3A<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\n<strong> Caption: Uploaded on Feb 10, 2016<\/strong><br \/>\n<em>This is an actual example on how impossible it is to live on the salary of a dispatched ALT working at a Kitakyushu City Board of Education public school. Though they are full time teachers they only have 1000 yen a day to spend on food and nothing else. They just can&#8217;t survive on this low wage.<\/em><br \/>\n\u5317\u4e5d\u5dde\u5e02\u306e\u5e02\u7acb\u4e2d\u5b66\u6821\u3067\u50cd\u304f\u6d3e\u9063\u306e\u8a9e\u5b66\u6307\u5c0e\u52a9\u624b\u306e\u7d66\u6599\u306e\u5b9f\u614b\u3002\u53ef\u51e6\u5206\u53ce\u5165\u306f\u67083\u4e07\u5186\u3001\u00ad\u305d\u308c\u306f\u3059\u3079\u3066\u98df\u8cbb\u306b\u4f7f\u3046\u30681\u65e51000\u5186\u3050\u3089\u3044\u3002\u30d5\u30eb\u30bf\u30a4\u30e0\u306e\u5148\u751f\u306a\u306e\u306b\u8ca7\u56f0\u5c64\u3002\u73fe\u5b9f\u00ad\u3067\u3059\u3002<\/p>\n<p>\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/<\/p>\n<p>As further background to the ALT issue, here is a Japan Times Letter to the Editor by Chris Clancy:<\/p>\n<p><strong>Purging the nation of racism<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong> The Japan Times\u00a0JAN 30, 2016<\/strong><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.japantimes.co.jp\/opinion\/2016\/01\/30\/reader-mail\/purging-nation-racism\/\">http:\/\/www.japantimes.co.jp\/opinion\/2016\/01\/30\/reader-mail\/purging-nation-racism\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Chulbom Lee, in his Letter to the Editor in the Jan. 17 issue titled \u201c<a href=\"http:\/\/www.japantimes.co.jp\/opinion\/2016\/01\/16\/reader-mail\/move-forward-protecting-foreign-residents\/\">Move forward by protecting foreign residents<\/a>,\u201d reminds readers that not even two years ago the U.N. Committee of Racial Discrimination called on Japan to take action against incidents of racism that continue to plague the country. Lee insinuates that increased legal protection against harassment or job discrimination for Japan\u2019s foreign residents would prove the nation is not still steeped in past militaristic nationalism.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>One could make a case for the continuing plight of the assistant language teacher (ALT). Team teaching in which ALTs assist Japanese teachers of English (JTE) in classrooms for the betterment of students\u2019 communicative abilities was introduced in Japan some 30 years ago. The progress that has been made over that time \u2014 however minimal \u2014 is a direct result of the individual efforts of countless foreign ALTs. How is this success rewarded? Those ALTs fortunate enough to be either participants of the Japan Exchange Programme (JET) or directly hired by educational offices earn similar standards of remuneration and remain employed under virtually the same limited term contract stipulations as their predecessors. Those staffed by outside agencies contracted by the education offices are even worse off. The government has in effect created a transient population of anonymous, expendable individuals that reeks of slavery.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>The fact that ALTs are all non-Japanese makes the discriminatory practice racial. Any governmental administer who fails to take this matter seriously \u2014 ignoring the issue altogether or claiming budgetary constraints as a reason improvements cannot be made \u2014 is guilty of perpetuating racial discrimination. How is this crime punished? Bonuses twice a year and annual salary increases for perpetrators.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Time is past due for Japanese government at all levels to take a stand for tax-paying foreign nationals! We can only hope that such monkey business will not last too far into the new year.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>CHRIS CLANCY<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong> NAGANO<\/strong><br \/>\n\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/<\/p>\n<p>As an interesting aside, Chris Clancy kindly sent me the original letter he submitted to the editor. \u00a0Note what it originally sourced:<\/p>\n<p>\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/<br \/>\n<strong>ORIGINAL TEXT FOLLOWS, COURTESY OF CHRIS CLANCY:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em>Arudou Debito gives a fair assessment of the good, the bad and impeded progress regarding human rights issues in Japan in his most recent \u201cJust Be Cause\u201d column (\u201c<a href=\"http:\/\/www.japantimes.co.jp\/community\/2016\/01\/03\/issues\/battles-history-media-message-scar-2015\/\">Battles over history, the media and the message scar 2015,\u201d January 3<\/a>). One issue he could also have included is the continuing plight of the Assistant Language Teacher (ALT).<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Team teaching in which ALTs assist Japanese teachers of English (JTE) in classrooms for the betterment of students\u2019 communicative abilities was introduced in Japan some 30 years ago. The progress that has been made over that time &#8212; however minimal \u2013 is a direct result of the individual efforts of countless foreign ALTs. How is this success rewarded? Those ALTs fortunate enough to be either participants of the Japan Exchange Programme (JET) or directly hired by educational offices earn similar standards of remuneration and remain employed under virtually the same limited term contract stipulations as their predecessors. Those staffed by outside agencies contracted by the education offices are even worse off. The government has in effect created a transient population of anonymous, expendable individuals that reeks of slavery.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Arudou-san points out that Japan did sign the United Nations Convention on Racial Discrimination in December 1995, but the fact that ALTs are all non-Japanese makes the discriminatory practice racial. Any governmental administer who fails to take this matter seriously \u2013 ignoring the issue altogether or claiming budgetary constraints as a reason improvements cannot be made \u2013 is guilty of perpetuating racial discrimination. How is this crime punished? Bonuses twice a year and annual salary increases for perpetrators.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>We can only hope that such monkey business will not continue too far into the new year. Perhaps improved conditions for foreign educators will be one of the positive stories in Arudou-san\u2019s top 10 for 2016.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>Chris Clancy, MSEd (educator, USA)<\/strong><br \/>\n\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/<\/p>\n<p><strong>COMMENT<\/strong>: \u00a0Receiving no response, and wanting to make sure that this issue got the exposure it deserved, Chris\u00a0submitted two more\u00a0versions of this letter to the JT editors (I reproduce the one above with his permission). \u00a0Editors took the one that avoided sourcing my article.<\/p>\n<p>So it&#8217;s interesting how certain elements within the Japan Times are that unfriendly. Not only do they sometimes not put up links to my columns\u00a0on the Japan Times Facebook feed when they come out (is avoiding increasing their readership something they&#8217;re professionally entitled to do?),\u00a0they&#8217;ve also\u00a0refused to review my book &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/embeddedracism.html\">Embedded Racism<\/a>&#8220;, claiming that they don&#8217;t review individual monographs anymore. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.japantimes.co.jp\/culture\/2016\/01\/16\/books\/book-reviews\/lost-japan\/\">Except when they&#8217;re 20-year-old monographs by Alex Kerr (last January)<\/a>. Or &#8220;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.japantimes.co.jp\/culture\/column\/essential-reading-for-japanophiles\/\">Essential Reading for Japanophiles<\/a>&#8221; [sic]. \u00a0Odd bias, that. Dr. ARUDOU, Debito<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This post deals with Government-sponsored slave wages (or worse) for NJ educators within the Japanese public school system through the cost-cutting &#8220;Assistant Language Teachers&#8221; (ALTs) &#8220;outsourcing&#8221; system&#8211;a backdoor way for local governments to get cheaper JETs than having to go through the national government&#8217;s JET Programme (where wages and work conditions are more fixed at a higher standard).  The cost-cutting for the ALTs has gotten to the point (inevitably) where the ALTs are no longer being paid a living wage.  Here&#8217;s the math in video form, courtesy of the Fukuoka General Union:<\/p>\n<p>CAPTION:  This is an actual example on how impossible it is to live on the salary of a dispatched ALT working at a Kitakyushu City Board of Education public school. Though they are full time teachers they only have 1000 yen a day to spend on food and nothing else. They just can&#8217;t survive on this low wage.<br \/>\n\u5317\u4e5d\u5dde\u5e02\u306e\u5e02\u7acb\u4e2d\u5b66\u6821\u3067\u50cd\u304f\u6d3e\u9063\u306e\u8a9e\u5b66\u6307\u5c0e\u52a9\u624b\u306e\u7d66\u6599\u306e\u5b9f\u614b\u3002\u53ef\u51e6\u5206\u53ce\u5165\u306f\u67083\u4e07\u5186\u3001\u00ad\u305d\u308c\u306f\u3059\u3079\u3066\u98df\u8cbb\u306b\u4f7f\u3046\u30681\u65e51000\u5186\u3050\u3089\u3044\u3002\u30d5\u30eb\u30bf\u30a4\u30e0\u306e\u5148\u751f\u306a\u306e\u306b\u8ca7\u56f0\u5c64\u3002\u73fe\u5b9f\u00ad\u3067\u3059\u3002<\/p>\n<p>As further background to the ALT issue, here is a Japan Times Letter to the Editor by Chris Clancy:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[67,18,43,26,16,13,11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13814","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-embedded-racism","category-academia","category-bad-business-practices","category-ironies-hypocrisies","category-labor-issues","category-media","category-problematic-foreign-treatment"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13814","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13814"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13814\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13814"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13814"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13814"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}