News

  • Landmark Dispute at EC London as Teachers Demand Return to Pre-Pandemic Pay

    Teachers at EC London are demanding pay restoration to pre-pandemic levels, improved working conditions and union recognition. In a first for the industry, a letter demanding union recognition was given to EC management this morning and the teachers held a rally outside the school over their lunch break.  Teachers at EC London school of English…

  • BC teachers deserve transparency! 

    The TEFL Workers’ Union has submitted a Freedom of Information request to the British Council. The days of English Online (EOL) teachers getting passed back and forth from the BC to Impellam just to get basic information are over. Our union is here to shed light on how the BC really functions.  Our union is…

  • Phoenix Tutors Club: A warning from a fellow teacher

    Sadly, shady business practices are far too common in the world of ELT. It runs the gamut from schools using bogus self-employed contracts all the way up to grifters who set up fake schools to fleece students of their cash. At the union, we consider it our duty to share information when it appears a school is not…

  • TEFL social & meet-up (Bristol May 30th)

    Being in a union means having support when you have problems at work. It also means being part of a community – and nothing builds community like free pizza and drinks! Over the course of 2025, we’re hosting a series of “TEFL Town Hall” events. The first two have been in London, but we’re proud…

  • Text reads: EC teaches have a union!
    Landmark Dispute at EC London as Teachers Demand Return to Pre-Pandemic Pay
    Teachers at EC London are demanding pay restoration to pre-pandemic levels, improved working conditions and union recognition. In a first for the industry, a letter demanding union recognition was given to EC management this morning and the teachers held a rally outside the school over their lunch break.  Teachers at EC London school of English in Islington have been organising with the TEFL Workers’ Union (IWW) for the past 18 months. Once union membership reached … Read more
  • Image reads "BC teachers deserve better."
    BC teachers deserve transparency! 
    The TEFL Workers’ Union has submitted a Freedom of Information request to the British Council. The days of English Online (EOL) teachers getting passed back and forth from the BC to Impellam just to get basic information are over. Our union is here to shed light on how the BC really functions.  Our union is proud of our growing membership amongst online teachers at the British Council. And with every new member comes a new … Read more
  • Image reads: Phoenix Tutors Club, a warning for all teachers. Don't let the boss charge you for your employment.
    Phoenix Tutors Club: A warning from a fellow teacher
    Sadly, shady business practices are far too common in the world of ELT. It runs the gamut from schools using bogus self-employed contracts all the way up to grifters who set up fake schools to fleece students of their cash. At the union, we consider it our duty to share information when it appears a school is not what it claims to be. The following report came from a fellow teacher about Phoenix Tutors Academy/Club. In it, she alleges that … Read more
  • Image reads: Bristol TEFL Town Hall, Friday May 30th
    TEFL social & meet-up (Bristol May 30th)
    Being in a union means having support when you have problems at work. It also means being part of a community – and nothing builds community like free pizza and drinks! Over the course of 2025, we’re hosting a series of “TEFL Town Hall” events. The first two have been in London, but we’re proud to be hosting our third one in Bristol on May 30th. It’ll be an opportunity for TEFL workers in Bristol … Read more
  • Image reads: "TEFL town Hall, Friday May 2nd"
    TEFL social & meet-up (London May 2nd)
    We’re proud to be hosting the second “TEFL Town Hall” in London on May 2nd. As before, it’ll be an opportunity to meet with fellow ELT workers, do some fun activities, and, of course, free pizza and drinks! It’ll be at our union office at the May Day Rooms on Fleet Street with doors opening at 6:30 for a 7 o’clock start. It’s free and you don’t need to be a union member to attend, so please … Read more
  • BC teachers covered in the Guardian – and what you can do to help!
    Our union is proud of the support we’ve been offering to British Council English Online teachers over the past few years. This recently culminated in a long article in the Guardian, which you can find here. The article, entitled British Council accused of forcing gig economy teachers into ‘feeding frenzy’ for work, details the precariousness the teachers face and largely takes its lead from an open letter TEFL Union members put together prior to the … Read more