News Articles

Kaplan: Where ten years’ service counts as zero

    It’s been a tough year for workers in the TEFL industry.   In an industry without a history unionisation or external regulation, it’s no surprise that language schools have unapologetically taken out the cost of the crisis on…

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IWW TEFL Workers’ Union COVID Roundup

    COVID has seen a large influx of members to and activity within the union.  We’ve of course continued the work of the union: media, social media, outreach, training up new union reps, solidarity with other unions and social…

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On Corporate Wokeness in ELT

In the wake of the murder of George Floyd and the subsequent Black Lives Matter protests, Edward Hult, the Chief Executive for EF language school’s North American operations wrote an open letter outlining the company’s approach to matters of racial…

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A Personal Appeal for Lebanon

On August 4, 2020 an explosion at the Beirut port, in Lebanon, devastated the capital city. As of today, the death toll has reached 137 with more than 6,000 injured, 60 missing, and about 300,000 people who have lost their…

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EF Social media day of action: Day 2  Monday 3rd August – Instagram

    Staff at EF language school in England and Ireland are facing mass redundancies. The company is only offering the statutory minimum, meaning the large percentage of staff with less than two years of service will get nothing. EF…

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Prisoner Solidarity Network

Campaigners call for action on extreme temperatures in prison cells

The issue of unsafe temperatures in prison cells is raised every summer by people inside prisons and by their partners and families. It is inhumane to hold people in these conditions and should be addressed with urgency by the Ministry of Justice.

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[Photo Source: CDC Global - License: CC BY 2.0]

Staying safe at work: “The Hierarchy of Controls” in the time of COVID

[Photo Source: CDC Global – License: CC BY 2.0]   While matters of health and safety have always been prominent in factories or hospitals, the coronavirus has meant those of us who work in classrooms or offices are having to…

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Changes to Government Furlough Scheme

  The government have announced changes to the furlough scheme that include a change to what your employer has to pay as well as the option to furlough workers on a part-time basis. We at the union have dug into…

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TEFL Workers are Fighting Native Speaker Bias in Language Teaching

Introduction by Sulaiman A. Jenkins   Where effective language teaching should be the main concern for companies and organizations hiring English teachers, native speakerism continues to be a major stain on the industry. It is the idea that good teachers…

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