As part of our mission to ensure every language school worker in the UK knows their rights, the TEFL Workers’ Union is running a free training on employment tribunals on July 10the at our union office in London. Employment tribunals are not a step to be taken lightly. But in an industry where employers are … Read more
Workplace reps are lifeline of a fighting union. Having a rep in your workplace means everyone knows their rights. If issues do come up or someone is facing a disciplinary, having a rep means never facing those issues alone. Not a rep in your workplace? Maybe that person should be you! The TEFL Workers’ Union … Read more
Ukraine, TEFL and the Politics of War and ‘Extremism’ What can a charity football match teach us about about UK foreign policy and domestic policies like Prevent? Quite a lot it turns out. In the article below, a member and activist with the TEFL Workers’ Union looks into the unspoken politics of a charity football … Read more
Introduction to series The Teaching English as a Foreign Language industry can be broadly categorised into 3 areas; TEFL, ESOL and EAP. But what do these acronyms mean? How does each differ from the other, if at all? What does this mean for the teachers delivering these courses? And for campaign organising? In a series … Read more
The TEFL Workers’ Union was delighted to read Alice Rodgers’ article in the EL Gazette, Can we disentangle TEFL from its colonial past? Alice looks at the myriad of ways that TEFL is inextricably linked to global structures of empire, oppression, and exploitation. Self-perception and reality TEFL views itself as a largely liberalising force for … Read more
As employers across the globe continue to use the pandemic and the resulting economic crisis to attack working conditions, staff at the British Council are being balloted for strike action by their union, PCS. The dispute centres on the failure of the British Council to properly consult on redundancies as well as threats to privatise … Read more