The district government in Guangxi province, China has sent dismissal notices to over a thousand teachers. They've been told if they don't sign they won't be paid any sort of compensation. Teachers believe the government is trying to evade responsibility with the new employment contract law going into effect next year. This new law will rise the cost of keeping the teachers on by increasing their benefits. Here's more.

The notice says that the employment dismissals start on December 30. One of the dismissed teachers says the government forced them to give up their jobs just a few days before the New Year, and that it would only pay individual compensation no higher than one quarter of the annual salary. It is an official but verbal notice made by the government to seemingly ensure that no evidence whatsoever is left behind.

[Ye Jieshun, Fired Teacher]:
“There are over 1,100 of us who will lose our job because of the new law. It takes away our compensation, pension fund, and medical insurance. After teaching for ten years, we are asked to leave with basically nothing in return. We totally disagree with this but the government threaten us by taking away the last tiny amount of compensation from those who confront them. We lose everything either way.”

[Liu Chaozhang, Fired Teacher]:
“No one would sign on that dismissal agreement but the government forces us to. When we rang them up to make a formal complaint, they told us they know nothing about it and would not file it for us.”

Miss Kong has been teaching in Guangxi province since 1980 as a temporary employee. She was never given for a permanent contract and only received one quarter of the minimal annual salary. In 2003, she was forced to sign another temporary contract and was asked to leave at the end of the year with no compensation at all.

[Miss Kong, Teacher]:
“I offered my help when teachers were needed in county areas back then, and now after 16 years, the government throws us away just like old tools. All we have are tears but nothing more.”

As their last hope, the teachers are looking for support from the public through some non-government controlled media.

NTDTV China News.
See : http://english.ntdtv.com/?c=145&a=1256