Contract Arbitration?

Who does contract arbitration in Guangzhou?  What government agency or division has the most pull or power when dealing with issues between foriegn teachers and Chinese school when the school violates the contract?
I am almost at the end of my contract and about to get the royal shaft, not to mention some severe verbal abuse.
Any help?   

Wow BW.  Is the violation major? I've been told that in China, the foreigner's always wrong.  And I think there's little, if anything that you can do about it.

I hope someone else has some better advise for you. Sorry. 

Contact the local Foreign Experts' Bureau. They're supposed to do the local arbitration-if you have a Foreign Expert Certificate (FEC).  

You mentioned elsewhere you're here on an F-visa, so it may not be the case that you have an FEC.  

Still, since you are a professor, they may be compassionate and help you out.  

Or not.  

Hope this helps.  

Thanks Lone and Old34....
I will see next week what happens, but I feel I have a strong case, at least I will give it a shot if they try to screw me.   

Ouch. Bad news...
The sad fact is that, in most cases, Chinese employers are not subject to binding arbitration (even if it's in the contract), and precious few will agree to it or to anything else that might present a view other than their own.

SAFEA might be of some help, at least if you're at a SAFEA-signatory school, but IMHO it's very unlikely they will be much if any. Like the contracts themselves, SAFEA is intended to be much more for the employer's protection than for yours. Personally, I can't recall ever hearing of even a single instance where SAFEA sided with, or helped, a foreign worker in any field.

Your best bet may be to stick to your guns, stay in their faces as much as possible, and make lots of embarrassing noise. Make it easier to settle with you than to screw you over. This, at least, I have known to work in some cases.

Here's one guy's story of trying to take the fight to The Man™ in China and getting nowhere fast.
(Also with a Part 2 and aPost Script.)
Do let us know how it goes and write things up for posterity – if you're successful it will be very helpful for everyone else to know how things should be done.

Good luck!

Thanks Lone and Old34....
I will see next week what happens, but I feel I have a strong case, at least I will give it a shot if they try to screw me.   

Sympathy.

But you're working here illegally.  I don't think you'll get any official help.

Well if you are working on anything besides a Z visa you could end up landing yourself in a big pot of trouble.
In the end if it's a choice between you and the school SAFEA will choose the school and probably threaten you with sever punishment for working illegally for your contract period.
Let the foreigner hang and the guy that pays you a bribe or you have guanxi  with get s a pat on the back.

Who does contract arbitration in Guangzhou?  What government agency or division has the most pull or power when dealing with issues between foriegn teachers and Chinese school when the school violates the contract?
I am almost at the end of my contract and about to get the royal shaft, not to mention some severe verbal abuse.
Any help?   

You will need to contact the provincial Bureau of Foreign Experts in Guangzhou for arbitration. Be sure to take all written documentation you have with you, including contract, residence permit, passport, etc.

It may be a problem to find the address. If I were you,I would ask someone at the reception desks in a bigger hotel of the city. You could ask them to check the address for you; mostly it is in the local phone book. The Bureau of Foreign Experts normally forms part of the provincial Education Committee.

For your own safety, you should only contact them in case you came by a Z visa and have a valid residence permit. If not, reporting to them might get you in severe trouble for working illegally in China, and you may risk heavy fines, arrest and/or deportation.

Good luck!