\u201cOnline platforms like Learnship promise flexibility and quick cash. But the reality is often one of precarity and exploitation and, when crises do occur, teachers\u2019 livelihoods are the first to be sacrificed. But we\u2019re not going to let Learnship get away with it. The teachers are determined to get what\u2019s owed to them and the union has their back every step of the way\u201d the lead organiser for the TEFL Workers\u2019 Union, Tom Liebewitz stated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Teachers report that until mid-November, Learnship continued assigning new courses, onboarding students, and billing corporate clients as usual \u2013 even though those delivering the lessons were not receiving compensation. On November 14, the company shut down all communication channels; Microsoft Teams groups were deleted or locked, and the internal support chat was removed, say employees. For a full week, the trainers did not receive a single form of communication from their employer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt is we who have been the ambassadors of the brand and driven growth and success from the ground up. So it is flatly unacceptable that when it really counts, we are coldly shut out from communication and denied what we are rightfully owed: our money and an explanation\u201d said Richard, a Learnship teacher.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On November 21, Learnship issued a vague message to teachers that the company was facing \u201coperational difficulties\u201d without any elaboration on whether the company is solvent or not. Employees say management instructed trainers to lie to students about the precarious situation in which they were in and cancel lessons using \u201cneutral reasons.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe were asked to lie to our students and pretend nothing was wrong. For people who try to be honest, that alone creates a whole different kind of strain\u201d said one teacher.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In addition to collective organizing, some teachers have filed police reports in their respective countries. Others have sought out legal counsel to determine whether Learnship\u2019s instructions to remain silent violate teachers\u2019 rights as freelancers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFor hundreds of trainers around the world, the question now is not just when Learnship will pay them, but whether they can financially survive long enough to find out\u201d conclude the teachers in a joint statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A.M.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Learnship, a German corporate language-training provider based in Cologne is refusing to pay October and November wages amounting to over \u20ac500,000 for approximately 1,000 teachers. What\u2019s more, employees say that the company is also failing to communicate with teachers about the situation, going as far as shutting down communication channels. The flagrant violation of labor rights has motivated employees to collectively organize, with some seeking out and joining unions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":226,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[230,8],"form":[71],"concept":[93],"contents":[154],"coauthors":[5],"class_list":["post-20543","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-germany","tag-workers-rights","form-news","concept-labour-movement","contents-labour","infinite-scroll-item","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-25"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n