No pay, unsatisfactory conditions for Irish teachers in Poland

Two TEFL teachers who travelled to Poland through the company i to i to teach English had to work ‘all hours', were not paid, and one was threatened when he decided to leave. i to i has now apologised and is offering a refund. By Emma Browne

Two people who taught English in Poland through i to i, a company that organises volunteer and working trips abroad, say the Polish liasion arranged for them by the company failed to pay them and threatened one of them when he tried to leave. There are numerous complaints of a similar nature posted on the internet about the organiser by other people who have worked for him. i to i told Village it has suspended its teaching programme in Poland and is conducting an investigation into the experience of the two individuals. However, neither has been informed about this investigation.

Gerry McDermott and Trina O'Connor both paid i to i €600 to organise a placement for them in a Polish school teaching English as a foreign language. The company set them up with a man called Alex Kurowski in Poland who placed them in a school in Plock called Centrum Edukacji Orlen. Trina arrived in early-October 2006 and Gerry arrived at the end of October 2006.

Trina says that she had to work “all hours”, that she “was treated like dirt” and was not paid once for the whole time she was there. Including the €600 she paid to i to i and the price of her flights and accommodation, Trina ended up €1,600 out of pocket. She left Poland in December 2006 after three months at the school because of the conditions which “put [her] off teaching in a foreign country again”.

Trina says she sent an email to i to i about her experience. She received no reply. i to i says it did not receive any correspondence from Trina. She did eventually get paid the outstanding money owed to her from the school.

Gerry McDermott says he was told by Alex Kurowski that he would have two days' induction in the Polish school upon arrival, as this was his first time teaching since obtaining his TEFL qualification. When he got to the school, however, there was no induction and the school staff said they had been led to believe he had two years' experience, which was incorrect. Also when Gerry arrived in Poland he was not taken to the place he was told he would be based and instead was brought to Plock by Alex. Gerry says that he was expected to work all hours at the school too, including days off.

After a few weeks there, Arek told him he would not be paid until after Christmas. At this point, Gerry searched the internet and found numerous complaints from people who had worked for Arek. The bulk of the complaints were posted on a forum for people who teach English as a foreign language.

He confronted the school about this in November 2006 and said he was leaving. They threatened him with legal action. He also confronted Arek, who sent him a text message saying Gerry was a “long way from home” and that he “didn't know what [he] was doing”.

Gerry emailed i to i on 11 November 2006, sending them links to complaints about Arek on the internet and asking for an explanation as to why he was set up with Arek. i to i replied on 13 November, asking him for more information, which he supplied that same day. He has not heard anything from the company since. Gerry has still not been paid for any of the work he did. He is €2,000 out of pocket.

Although i to i does not have direct contact with the schools in foreign countries, and does not handle payments to teachers, it did set up Trina and Gerry with Arek.

When Village contacted i to i about Trina and Gerry, they said they had suspended operations in Poland and were conducting an investigation “into the experience of Gerard and Trina during their time in Poland”. But neither Trina or Gerry have been told about this investigation or contacted by i to i in relation to it.

i to i also said it was sorry Gerry and Trina had bad experiences, but that the company had not received a formal complaint from either of them. Up until Village contacted i to i, it had not offered Trina or Gerry any refund. After Village submitted questions to i to i on 25 May, it said it would contact the two about a refund of the €600.

In relation to Gerry's change of location and lack of induction training, i to i said, “The change in location and lack of induction is not what we would have expected and is something which we would have addressed had we been informed at the time.”

The company said it will not use Arek Kurowski in Poland anymore. When asked if they had received any other complaints about Arek, they said, “We received very few complaints... Of the few complaints that we did receive, almost all were entirely related to the forum comments, either during or before travel. We are aware of one other person that did not get the induction as expected on arrival.”