Nova Nova Nova, geez.

*see my full blog at http://adelleM.wordpress.com

Ever since September 15th when I found out that some Nova teachers hadn’t been paid trying to understand the situation and figure out a course of action has been a primary concern for me. Information comes slowly and from different sources… The initial shock seems to have passed, but Nova’s problems - and their serious effects on teachers - are nowhere near solved. The most immediate issue is teacher payment, but of course that is linked to questions of Nova’s viability as a company. Here is an update:

Titled Instructors (assistant trainers, block trainers, etc) were finally paid last Friday, I believe, 2 weeks late. That’s more than unacceptable for a monthly paycheck. Apparently Nova’s president Nozom Sahashi had to take out a loan or something to pay teachers. Part-time Japanese staff were recently paid on time, but full-time Japanese staff have not been, as of a couple of days ago. Nova has basically made it a priority to pay those who are most likely to walk out due to late payment; although in many cases that backfired with the titled instructors. Many - but not necessarily most - of the teachers I’ve spoken with think that they will probably get paid on Oct. 15… but at the same time they’re not holding their breath. My two (former) co-workers have both already began searching for other jobs and they currently have something worked out with another English school (Gaba) where they will work there part-time for the time being, and then when/if Nova does go under they can go full-time at Gaba. It’s my understanding that the majority of Gaba’s new applicants are current Nova teachers (even my former block trainer!) and even though Nova has not officially collapsed or declared bankruptcy the market is already flooded with teachers looking for work.

As for me, I’m pursuing a different field of inquiry. What a lot of people don’t seem to know (or care about?) is that Nova seems to have decided that former teachers don’t have to be paid. 3 former teachers that I’ve recently been in contact with have not been paid. 2 friends worked early in June, left later in the month, and are still owed the paycheck that should have been issued July 15. That paycheck is 2 months overdue. The 3rd friend left in the middle of July and has yet to receive payment for working in June or July. As I said before Nova is paying those teachers who are at-risk for walking out; late or non payment of former teachers carries absolutely no risk. Unfortunately for me, Sept. 29 was my last day on Nova’s payroll, so as of Sept. 30 I am a former teacher.

I’m trying to ascertain my chances of receiving my next and final paycheck, but that task seems to be ridiculously herculean. I have called the American Embassy - they told me to speak to a lawyer. A friend referred me to a legal clinic with reasonable rates (5000 yen consultation) and translation services for foreigners. I called but no one there spoke English - seriously not a word. I found a listing in English for a law office (10000 yen consultation) and I briefly went over the situation with the receptionist but she was unable to give me any information today. I mean, not even a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ as to if I could get a consultation. I don’t really want to speak with a lawyer though - I shouldn’t need one! I did the work, Nova needs to pay me… I’m not sure what a lawyer could accomplish. Would any of my law school friends like to comment on that?

I think I was lied to by someone in the payroll department today. I called and asked if I would be paid next month. I wasn’t expecting a straight answer but I figured I should go through the motions of asking. She told me that nobody had changed the date that paychecks are issued so I will receive it on the 15th. So then I mentioned my friends to her. I said, well… I’m asking because I’m no longer a teacher and I have three friends who are former teachers who left in June who have not received their final paychecks yet. She replied that I would get it immediately if deposited into a Japanese bank account, but that depositing into overseas accounts could take 1-2 months. I don’t believe her for 2 reasons: other former teachers I’ve spoken with say it does not take that long to receive the last paycheck, even with the overseas account factored in; and payroll has lied to employees before. In fact, when teachers in the countryside had not yet been paid earlier this month the stated reason was that it was taking longer to transfer the money because the teachers were in the countryside, and that supposedly delayed the bank transfer. That’s just not true. It was a bald-faced lie. There is one more option - I can attend a ‘Nova Bankruptcy Watch Consultation’ on Sunday.

At this point I don’t know what to think. Maybe I’ll be paid because I’ll still have my Japanese bank account. Given the situation, however, given that Nova’s priorities are to pay teachers and staff who might walk out, given that money had to be borrowed in order to pay teachers, and given that Nova has a negative cash flow, really what are my chances? I don’t want to be needlessly anxious, but I certainly don’t want to underestimate the potential for disaster.

Insolvency. Bankruptcy. Collapse. Since Sept. 15 these words have entered - and quite violently at that - my personal vernacular. So what is going on with Nova anyway? The question of assets is key. Most Nova teachers can be divided into two groups: those who think Nova has assets and those who don’t. I used to be in the first group until recently when I spoke to Ken Worsley (from Trans-Pacific Radio) about the issue. Because he’s more or less familiar with Nova’s official financial situation he was able to tell me that the company sold all of its assets between April and June of 2006. There have been countless rumors of buyouts and financial injections, and Ken does a great job of assessing those possibilities in his TPR blog. He also interviewed a number of Nova teachers (yours truly included) about the situation. You can listen to it here (I’m minutes 15-20), and big thanks to Ken for speaking with me and including my segment on his show!

So, that’s what’s up. If you know anything I invite you to comment.