Hokkaido ALT Union

04/07/2022

Our ALT satisfaction survey 2022 is now live!!

Please follow the link below to complete it. The survey will be open until July 22nd 2022.

The benefits to filling out our survey are that:

1) We provide an optional space for you to give as detailed thoughts as you like, instead of just ranking expectations and satisfaction on a pre-determined scale

2) We cover a wide range of issues, including current issues that we feel ALTs are facing. Again, we provide you space to express whatever issues you personally are facing

3) We will share all of the data we collect with you (the data will be anonymized to protect individuals’ identity)

We look forward to seeing your responses!

Many thanks,

Everyone at Hokkaido ALT Union

Welcome to our survey. Hokkaido ALT Union sends one out every year to learn more about the needs of our colleagues. Our goal is to calibrate ourselves better with the values of Interac North employees. You will be required to sign in to an email address to take part in this survey but we will not be...

11/05/2022

As Japan moves towards increasing amounts of digitization in the classroom, should ALTs be provided with access to work devices?

We certainly think so!

Regardless of whether these devices should be provided by dispatch companies or the Boards of Education, currently ALTs are being left with a “GIGA” sized device deficit as we’re often expected to provide our own.

Please check out our article below and sound off in the comments with your take!

As far back as 2018, the Japanese government was putting together a ¥461 billion plan to digitize education. Through GIGA School, each and every student in schools nationwide would be given access to handheld computers and high speed inter

18/12/2021

Our petition in support of better treatment and working conditions for ALTs is still up and running.

https://www.change.org/p/株式会社リンク-インタラック-日本の学生とリンクインタラックのalt教師-外国語指導助手-の健康と安全を改善しましょう?utm_content=cl_sharecopy_31239975_ja-JP%3A7&recruiter=1232184041&recruited_by_id=013448f0-3b7c-11ec-8b08-67e0fe4e4b7c&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=copylink&utm_campaign=psf_combo_share_initial&utm_term=d665f8c6252347d0b153a43b34945801

If you haven’t yet, please consider signing to show your support.

The petition is in Japanese with an English version below, so please share it as wide as possible too.

English guidance on how to fill out the petition is in the comments below

Thank you

24/11/2021

Yesterday, November 23rd 2021, Hokkaido ALT Union members took to the streets of Sapporo to hand out leaflets to the public with information concerning dispatch ALT issues and our online petition.

200 leaflets were given out in under two hours with encouraging engagement from the public.

The activity was also reported in this morning’s Hokkaido Shinbum newspaper. (Visible online here: https://www.hokkaido-np.co.jp/sp/article/614790 #:~:text=札幌市内の小,安定な立場にある%E3%80%82)

If you haven’t yet, please take a couple of minutes to sign our online petition in support of better conditions for dispatch ALTs here:

https://www.change.org/p/株式会社リンク-インタラック-日本の学生とリンクインタラックのalt教師-外国語指導助手-の健康と安全を改善しましょう?utm_content=cl_sharecopy_31239975_ja-JP%3A7&recruiter=1232184041&recruited_by_id=013448f0-3b7c-11ec-8b08-67e0fe4e4b7c&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=copylink&utm_campaign=psf_combo_share_initial&utm_term=d665f8c6252347d0b153a43b34945801

08/11/2021

Improve teaching skills? Update lesson plans and materials for a central shared file? Literally anything worthwhile towards career development? Not on Interac’s watch!

In 2019, Interac switched from a Gyomu Itaku dispatch contract to a Haken dispatch contract. A result of this was a 30-50% increase of time spent at work with no increase in the amount of work content. Under Gyomu Itaku, ALTs were only required to be at school when a class was scheduled. Under Haken, ALTs needed to be at school all day regardless of the number of classes.

This lead to a huge increase of "desk warming" time. Many ALTs found themselves sat at their desks for long stretches of time. If the ALT had no classes scheduled, they would have more than 6 hours of "desk warming" time.

The company received some complaints from both schools and employees about this and they attempted to solve the problem in a now infamous training session. One senior member of Interac North spent a significant amount of time suggesting that ALTs read books, study Japanese, wander the school hallways, sit up straight at their desks, and most importantly: don't fall asleep! The company also suggested an optimal way of using a smartphone so it was less conspicuous.

Obviously workers were shocked. To this day, the root issues persist.

With thanks and credit to Square Comix (https://instagram.com/squarecomix?utm_medium=copy_link)

02/11/2021

We have launched a petition in support of ALTs across Japan being paid a fair wage. We are full time employees who teach in public schools. We should not be forced to take on additional jobs to make ends meet; we should not be struggling to survive during prorated months.

Please take 5 minutes to read our petition (English follows the Japanese) and add your name. Whether you are in Japan or not, in the English education industry or not, your support is needed. It really does make a difference.

Please click the link below or the banner to find the petition.

Thank you

あなたの声がチカラになります。賛同して、変化を起こす一員になりませんか？

29/10/2021

In 2019, Interac North introduced a new system of payment called SCS. The company's intentions were to create a more stable income for its employees throughout the year. However, many believe that SCS created worse problems than it solved.

In May 2019, the first paycheck of a new contract, some ALTs were paid as little as 40,000 yen.

Many were taken by surprise by such a low amount and were forced to borrow money either from family members or the company to survive. Interac offered a "low-interest loan" to its employees which many ALTs thought was predatory.

One of our union's top demands is an end to prorated months. ALTs need 12 full months of salary to have an acceptable quality of life. Every year has been worse than 2019.

Comic drawn by and permission to share from (Instagram https://instagram.com/squarecomix?utm_medium=copy_link)

29/09/2021

Hi everyone -

The Hokkaido ALT Union now has several years of history and experience with the company in our branch and their representatives from Tokyo - we want to hold a Q&A and bring everyone up to speed on where we are at, what we've learned, and what we're doing.

Most of our efforts are documented in articles on our website https://hokkaido-alt-union.net but this will give us the chance to more directly connect with other ALTS, share perspectives and goals, and answer questions. It will be a casual chat with anyone interested.

When: Wednesday, October 6th 18:00~19:00 JST (length dependent on interest/participation however Google Meet free is capped at 60 minutes, to my understanding)

Where: Google Meet -> https://meet.google.com/rxq-vvof-vnj (This is my first time hosting a video conference like this, hope this works.)

Who: Hosted by Matt Brumbaugh, and some other members of the HAU.

Please join if you can! And feel free to post questions on comments here in advance so we might prepare an answer.

Real-time meetings by Google. Using your browser, share your video, desktop, and presentations with teammates and customers.

30/08/2021

Hi all,

In response to some feedback in our survey this year, we would like to share with you the specific demands we are fighting to win for all ALTs in Hokkaido 😄

We will update this space regularly as more demands get added and as we win those already in place 💪🏻

For more information, please visit our website https://hokkaido-alt-union.net

Or contact us via this Facebook or any union member directly

24/08/2021

This morning, an interview with Hokkaido ALT Union member Ethan Wearn was published in the Hokkaido Shimbun newspaper. The interview has also been gathering attention on Yahoo news.

We’re grateful for the press from Hokkaido Shimbun and are hopefully for the positive reach our issues are garnering with general Japanese population. We hope positive press of this kind will help to spread awareness of our issues, the damage it can do to Japanese education, and what people can do to help.

Thank you all for your support so far and the look forward to working towards a better future for all in Japanese education

Please see the article on the Hokkaido Shimbun website here:
https://www.hokkaido-np.co.jp/sp/article/581264?rct=