Why You Should Stay Away From the Chinese Foreign Teacher Union (CFTU)

[John V55]

Why You Should Stay Away From the Chinese Foreign Teacher Union (CFTU)

Working has never been glamorous although it’s a recruiter’s job to make it appear so with promises of ‘adventure’, ‘exciting opportunities’ and ‘dream locations’. There’s nothing wrong with that as they’re selling a product, but it should contain the phrase, Caveat emptor! Yet wait, there’s more. Included is the promise of not only a salary, but one that would be the envy of a headmaster with decades of qualified experience in a first-world economy!

Imagine that and all for a 150 hour TEFL attendance certificate ‘accredited’ by an internationally recognized academy, sought by employers and guaranteed to let you teach anywhere in the world. :roll:

If your gullibility reaches those levels let me introduce you to the China Foreign Teacher Union (CFTU) and their link farm stable mates Scam and fraud patrols, watchers, busters and many more on the anonymous pages of wordpress, reditt, opnlttr and ruqqus linking back to the CFTU. These platforms allow anonymity and it’s why they’re used. Anonymous? Well yes, all unions are state controlled in China and so a private one couldn’t exist in China. As it does, we can safely say it’s monitored by the PSB and is allowed for a reason. What the real reason is no one knows, but we can have a guess.

https://chinanews.net.au/2013/03/25/chi ... nese-scam/
"In fact, almost every expat site in China has banned them, though the occasional posting slips through, due to the sheer volume of their spamming …"

Or, "eChinacities.com, one of China’s most popular expat sites, reports more than eight months of constant spamming by dozens of fake user accounts associated with CFTU."

A blitz of repetitive spam links, fake accounts, anonymity …? Surely not here on TEFL.net? :)

To be fair, the CFTU does warn of scams, but their website (on anonymous wordpress of course), also brought a smile to my face.
‘The China Foreign Teachers Union is a volunteer group of foreign teachers who themselves were victims of employer abuse/exploitation, or recruiter scams and skimming schemes.’

Here are the previously scammed victims of privatized education warning others of the same scams whilst promoting the same greed. The privatized education sector IS the scam itself and greed is the lure that those now complaining about it bought into.

On your contract it should warn you to stay away from politics and religion. Or as in one of my old contracts, politely worded as ‘Party B shall respect religion policy of China and shall not engage in any activities which are not consistent with foreign expert status.’ This translates into ‘behave yourself’ and joining an illegal union is doing the opposite.

You might think you’re anonymous, but if you’ve supplied an illegal organization such as the China Foreign Teacher Union with your personal details and boast of how you’re illegally freelancing making loads of dosh, be assured that you’re not anonymous and are on borrowed time, courtesy of the PSB.

[Atlas]

Sir, I have been watching your feuds with Cricket and the others about you being opposed to scam reporting sites and all the people and groups that post them. I have no choice but to now think you yourself may have something to hide, or may be fronting or fishing for some black school or could be a recruiter yourself for all we know. One of the others pointed out that you have been lurking on this forum for years and soliciting the new arrivals with PMs. This is the sort of crap that happens on ESL Cafe and not something we expect or want to see on this honest forum. Also, always posting your resume over and over again does not help your credibility and some people will see it as a prop. You are not even legally allowed to teach in many countries because of your age. So what is the purpose of the resume?

I also notice that anyone and every one who does not agree with you is suddenly part of some conspiracy or some group like the CFTU, CTA, ETA, ChinaScamWatch.org, China Scam Patrol, etc. WTF? Aren't people allowed to disagree with you? You seem to have a hair up your ass about certain things in which others cannot argue with you. As fot your crazy attack on the CFTU, I had dealings with them in 2014-2015 and personally attended one of their monthly meetings, and here is what I personally learned:

- They don't sell anything (no products or services)

- They don't endorse any school, company, or people

- They are all volunteer foreign teachers

- They don't do any job placements

- They don't recruit or even make referrals

- They don't even sell advertising

- Greg and Debbie have been co--chairmn as long as I remember until Debbie got married and disappeared for a year

- Their membership is free

- They never asked me for a dime for anything

- Their newsletters are useful (3 samples are below)

- They helped me collect my last pay check and release letter from Hampson which jerked me around for 3 months

* Although I signed up as a member (just to get a newsletter subscription) I never went to another meeting and only went to one Holiday dinner at the Goose and Duck Bar.

So considering all of the above and the below links, I think you are either barking up the wrong tree, or like i said, you are afraid of being exposed for something unethical. I really don't know who you really are or why you live 24-7 on this forum, but my gut tells me you are either recruiting or fronting for something. Unlike you sir, I will not accuse of anything without some solid evidence, but I just have a bad feeling about you.

Regarding the CFTU, I think these speak for themselves;

https://www.docdroid.net/o5MrLc6/cftunewsletter128-pdf

https://www.docdroid.net/62qeqhq/cftunewsletter120-pdf

https://www.docdroid.net/9eTuyGK/cftunewsletter125-pdf


I think the real reason people like you and other recruiters don't like the CFTU is because they teach new teachers how to find their own jobs directly without middlemen and even provide the list of employers and contact info for free: https://www.reddit.com/r/CFTU/comments/ ... t_hire_ap/

The CFTU also publish articles like this... https://www.reddit.com/r/ChinaTeachers ... our_china/

Lastly, someone was caught a few years ago impersonating the CFTU trying the smear the group as you can see in the first article here: https://opnlttr.com/search/node/CFTU

They helped me collect my 15,000rmb from Hampson for free so I am grateful for their help, and I am sure I am not the only one. Lastly, this article her about Contract Fraud is probably the most useful and valuable article that I ever read online, and actually helped me earn $3,000 more a year. https://chinaforeignteachersunion.word ... contracts/

So whatever beef you have with the CFTU, I hope you will fess up and tell us what they did to you and why. Did they expose you on their blacklist by your real name or ????? https://www.docdroid.net/ZU9pFSI/cftu2020blacklist-pdf

P.S. As for the Echinacities thing you should be aware of this https://chinascamwatch.wordpress.com

[Vagabond]

Not this CFTU crap again. Anyone who lived or worked in Beijing about 6 years ago knows the Craig Hill story which is the basis of John's complaint. The man did some rotten stuff when he was employed with EChinacities as a moderator "Traveler" and before he came to China from Australia including a shady email scam. All of that is explained here in this article and the people who commented. https://chinadailymailscam.wordpress.co ... explained/

But then Craig was exposed not only by the CFTU but by China Scam Busters, China Scam Patrol, and some local China forums as part of this identity theft ring advertising on echinacities.com https://chinascamwatch.wordpress.com . But then Craig redeemed himself by exposing the owner of Echinacities.com as a real scumbag, animal and human trafficker and a Canadian citizen who somehow became a member of the CCP in China with dual citizenship which is supposed to be illegal in China. The owner Mr. Xu is a Canadian born Chinese. So because Craig resigned from Echinacities who created over a hundred identity theft victims a year (According the CSP report) and exposed the scams in the above link, most foreigners and the CFTU forgave his former misdeeds and it appears he published that blog piece about the CFTU before he flipped on echinacities and told the truth. This is the article he used to expose the crimes of Echinacities and shortly thereafter Craig was deported from China. https://chinanews.net.au/2013/12/18/ech ... a-machine/

I myself have no problem with the CFTU since they never harmed anyone, and tell teachers all the "inconvenient truths" that most all recruiters and job agents will never even mention, and if you ask them about (z visas, contracts, employee rights, for example) they will actually lie to you. I know many people they have helped, and like Atlas says, they never ask anyone for money or anything else. I cannot read everything they put out but I do read the stuff they post at https://reddit.com/r/cftu and also https://ruqqus.com/+cftu and there is nothing i find there that is not 100% true. So what's the problem?

I also found this here which is self explanatory https://www.reddit.com/r/ChinaScamCentr ... ftu_china/ So TBH, the only people who hate them and try to trash them are the 389 scam artists that they exposed in their annual blacklists. IMO opinion, if someone doesn't like this group of teachers, you don't have to read their stuff, nor go to their seminars or parties. One thing for sure, because of the CFTU at least 50,000 teachers are less gullible, ignorant, and vulnerable today and there are far less fraud and identity theft victims as a result. Jut my opinion you mind you.

Here is more about Craig Hill and the fiasco that took place a few years ago:

https://craighillchinadailymail.blogspot.com/

https://chinascampatrol.wordpress.com/2 ... hill-scam/

[John V55]

Vagabond and Atlas. Hi guys, where’s Cricket? You know you love it when I mention CFTU you all turn up one after another as if on cue and link out to the same spammy pages purely by coincidence. :lol:

‘The China Foreign Teachers Union is a volunteer group of foreign teachers who themselves were victims of employer abuse/exploitation, or recruiter scams and skimming schemes.’ (CFTU).
or
‘Tales of greedy people who got scammed by greedy businesses.’

Here’s one for you all and genuine quotes.

In association with CFTU, Uncle John presents The Moron’s guide to China TEFL :(

• "David came to China unaware that he was working illegally on an F visa, and that he was unqualified to work at his originally assigned school because he lacked a college degree."

• "ESLinsider baited and switched me on a job placement in 2017. The owner Ian said I could get a full-time job that paid $3,800 a month with a free furnished apartment with air-fare reimbursement if I completed his TEFL course ($599 at the time) and a fake diploma from him for another $500 which I negotiated down to $300 … it sounded like a great deal."

• "… and was taken directly to a jail way out in the boonies where I met about 60 other foreigners with similar problems. …"

What a bunch of bell ends! :lol: :lol: :lol:

Were any of you Three Musketeers one of these? Come on own up and I’ll promise not to laugh, honestly, well just a little, but I promise not to tell anyone. ;)

[ElaineF]

Why You Should Stay Away From the Chinese Foreign Teacher Union (CFTU)

Working has never been glamorous although it’s a recruiter’s job to make it appear so with promises of ‘adventure’, ‘exciting opportunities’ and ‘dream locations’. There’s nothing wrong with that as they’re selling a product, but it should contain the phrase, Caveat emptor! Yet wait, there’s more. Included is the promise of not only a salary, but one that would be the envy of a headmaster with decades of qualified experience in a first-world economy!

Imagine that and all for a 150 hour TEFL attendance certificate ‘accredited’ by an internationally recognized academy, sought by employers and guaranteed to let you teach anywhere in the world. :roll:

If your gullibility reaches those levels let me introduce you to the China Foreign Teacher Union (CFTU) and their link farm stable mates Scam and fraud patrols, watchers, busters and many more on the anonymous pages of wordpress, reditt, opnlttr and ruqqus linking back to the CFTU. These platforms allow anonymity and it’s why they’re used. Anonymous? Well yes, all unions are state controlled in China and so a private one couldn’t exist in China. As it does, we can safely say it’s monitored by the PSB and is allowed for a reason. What the real reason is no one knows, but we can have a guess.

https://chinanews.net.au/2013/03/25/chi ... nese-scam/
"In fact, almost every expat site in China has banned them, though the occasional posting slips through, due to the sheer volume of their spamming …"

Or, "eChinacities.com, one of China’s most popular expat sites, reports more than eight months of constant spamming by dozens of fake user accounts associated with CFTU."

A blitz of repetitive spam links, fake accounts, anonymity …? Surely not here on TEFL.net? :)

To be fair, the CFTU does warn of scams, but their website (on anonymous wordpress of course), also brought a smile to my face.
‘The China Foreign Teachers Union is a volunteer group of foreign teachers who themselves were victims of employer abuse/exploitation, or recruiter scams and skimming schemes.’

Here are the previously scammed victims of privatized education warning others of the same scams whilst promoting the same greed. The privatized education sector IS the scam itself and greed is the lure that those now complaining about it bought into.

On your contract it should warn you to stay away from politics and religion. Or as in one of my old contracts, politely worded as ‘Party B shall respect religion policy of China and shall not engage in any activities which are not consistent with foreign expert status.’ This translates into ‘behave yourself’ and joining an illegal union is doing the opposite.

You might think you’re anonymous, but if you’ve supplied an illegal organization such as the China Foreign Teacher Union with your personal details and boast of how you’re illegally freelancing making loads of dosh, be assured that you’re not anonymous and are on borrowed time, courtesy of the PSB.

It's essential for anyone considering working in another country to be cautious and well-informed about the organizations and job opportunities they are pursuing. The claims and promises made by recruiters should be carefully examined, and individuals should seek legitimate and ethical opportunities for work abroad.

[Wendy1969]

Why You Should Stay Away From the Chinese Foreign Teacher Union (CFTU)

Working has never been glamorous although it’s a recruiter’s job to make it appear so with promises of ‘adventure’, ‘exciting opportunities’ and ‘dream locations’. There’s nothing wrong with that as they’re selling a product, but it should contain the phrase, Caveat emptor! Yet wait, there’s more. Included is the promise of not only a salary, but one that would be the envy of a headmaster with decades of qualified experience in a first-world economy!

Imagine that and all for a 150 hour TEFL attendance certificate ‘accredited’ by an internationally recognized academy, sought by employers and guaranteed to let you teach anywhere in the world. :roll:

If your gullibility reaches those levels let me introduce you to the China Foreign Teacher Union (CFTU) and their link farm stable mates Scam and fraud patrols, watchers, busters and many more on the anonymous pages of wordpress, reditt, opnlttr and ruqqus linking back to the CFTU. These platforms allow anonymity and it’s why they’re used. Anonymous? Well yes, all unions are state controlled in China and so a private one couldn’t exist in China. As it does, we can safely say it’s monitored by the PSB and is allowed for a reason. What the real reason is no one knows, but we can have a guess.

https://chinanews.net.au/2013/03/25/chi ... nese-scam/
"In fact, almost every expat site in China has banned them, though the occasional posting slips through, due to the sheer volume of their spamming …"

Or, "eChinacities.com, one of China’s most popular expat sites, reports more than eight months of constant spamming by dozens of fake user accounts associated with CFTU."

A blitz of repetitive spam links, fake accounts, anonymity …? Surely not here on TEFL.net? :)

To be fair, the CFTU does warn of scams, but their website (on anonymous wordpress of course), also brought a smile to my face.
‘The China Foreign Teachers Union is a volunteer group of foreign teachers who themselves were victims of employer abuse/exploitation, or recruiter scams and skimming schemes.’

Here are the previously scammed victims of privatized education warning others of the same scams whilst promoting the same greed. The privatized education sector IS the scam itself and greed is the lure that those now complaining about it bought into.

On your contract it should warn you to stay away from politics and religion. Or as in one of my old contracts, politely worded as ‘Party B shall respect religion policy of China and shall not engage in any activities which are not consistent with foreign expert status.’ This translates into ‘behave yourself’ and joining an illegal union is doing the opposite.

You might think you’re anonymous, but if you’ve supplied an illegal organization such as the China Foreign Teacher Union with your personal details and boast of how you’re illegally freelancing making loads of dosh, be assured that you’re not anonymous and are on borrowed time, courtesy of the PSB.

It's essential for anyone considering working in another country to be cautious and well-informed about the organizations and job opportunities they are pursuing. The claims and promises made by recruiters should be carefully examined, and individuals should seek legitimate and ethical opportunities for work abroad.

Most Chinese/Asians are known to be either extremely exploitive, very oppressive, irrational, abusive and/or tend to make working conditions really unbearable for any outsiders that they considered as unimportant or dispensable in their organisations.

It is easy to end up disillusioned or end up as their victim if one is desperate for a job in Asia. Therefore, one should tread cautiously when seeking work in Asia. That is one main reason why even though I have always being passionate in whatever work I do, ended up being unmotivated and unemployed in Asia for so long after too many bad experiences in Asia.

[John V55]

Yes, it’s true that Asian employers have a very different view of the work ethic than we have here in the west. In many instances you become almost a slave to your employer and as you imply, tread carefully.

The vast majority of scams come from the private sector and are best avoided. This is where you’ll find the deadbeats who can’t get a job in state schools and the private employers know that and take full advantage of it.

Forget about the fantastic salaries and lieing on sun drenched beaches, it isn’t going to happen. Teaching is hard work and those who think it’s some kind of easy money gig are the first to fall.

[Wendy1969]

Yes, it’s true that Asian employers have a very different view of the work ethic than we have here in the west. In many instances you become almost a slave to your employer and as you imply, tread carefully.

The vast majority of scams come from the private sector and are best avoided. This is where you’ll find the deadbeats who can’t get a job in state schools and the private employers know that and take full advantage of it.

Forget about the fantastic salaries and lieing on sun drenched beaches, it isn’t going to happen. Teaching is hard work and those who think it’s some kind of easy money gig are the first to fall.

Many of them were extremely unprofessional, e.g - their irrational and vile abusive outburst. They have very poor management skills. It was really upsetting and traumatic for me. They should not be in the education business. I still feel very traumatized and very upset about what happened to me.
By the way that unpleasant incident happened after the principal came back from China. Scary.

[Wendy1969]

Yes, it’s true that Asian employers have a very different view of the work ethic than we have here in the west. In many instances you become almost a slave to your employer and as you imply, tread carefully.

The vast majority of scams come from the private sector and are best avoided. This is where you’ll find the deadbeats who can’t get a job in state schools and the private employers know that and take full advantage of it.

Forget about the fantastic salaries and lieing on sun drenched beaches, it isn’t going to happen. Teaching is hard work and those who think it’s some kind of easy money gig are the first to fall.

I like to teach. I don’t even mind the hours of preparation that one has to do for a lesson. But their horrible Asian culture and oppressive Asian environment is certainly not a conducive place for us who are seriously interested to develop our careers in English language.

[John V55]

It’s a cultural thing, with state schools being better than the private ones both in student behaviour and workload. If you want to make a career out of teaching you’re wasting your time in TEFL. Take a year out and do a post-grad ‘professional teaching course and go into the International schools.

[Wendy1969]

It’s a cultural thing, with state schools being better than the private ones both in student behaviour and workload. If you want to make a career out of teaching you’re wasting your time in TEFL. Take a year out and do a post-grad ‘professional teaching course and go into the International schools.

I doubt international schools would be any much better.
After being abused and exploited by too many unpleasant and abusive Chinese employers, it would be best to avoid them, even in the so-called international level. The many horrible aspects of their exploitive Chinese culture (that often victimised us due to their lack of professionalism) has crept into TEFL and that has certainly make it not worth pursuing for us naive newbies.