I want to respond to the confusion about my 'problem'. Here is a company that is looking for experienced controllers to quickly check out on live traffic. The idea is that they will fill gaps quickly while saving costs on training etc. I realize that a substantial amoun t of money will still be spent on moving expenses etc, but the balance sheet still shows a tremendous savings of money hiring an experienced controller over training an ab initio. This takes me to my first point which is that I personally did not expect to be paid more or receive more than any of the local controllers, I expected to atleast receive a salary which was comparable in scale to the one which I have attained in my home country. I have 10 years experience, radar terminal and enroute, I am experienced with some of the most advanced technology available to ATC in the world, certainly more advanced than what I saw over there! I would have been licenced in less than half the time of a local, and they were expecting me to start at the base salary level! That is not fair, I would have been giving up a lot for this move and there should at least be a compensation at the equivelent experience level of their local controllers.
The second point I am making is that I had full intention on becoming fully integrated in to the local society, I was already in language lessons, my family also. I researched customs, etiquettes, holidays, manners, etc...I was quite excited to be come apart of another society as a fully functioning and tax paying, law abiding citizen...my family was on that course too! I dont think that given the current level of education that my kids are at, that they would have been given a fair chance of not only reaching the level of their equivelent classmates, but excelling at it...I researched how the education system works there, and I know that they would not have been given as fair a chance at further education due to their lack of local language abilities. The international school system is established to accommodate the integration of children of expatriates. Continuing the education in their native language, while introducing them to the local language. They are trained to empathize with the children who have moved, and introduce them slowly and securely to their new environment. It isnt healty to dump a kid into a foreign education system half way through and expect them to swim...you know, and I know its a cut throat world, and it doesnt start after school! The company was not interested in the proper integration of my whole family ( I am a package deal, its not just me) the kids and my spouse being the most integral parts to a successful move...I dont get it, if my family isnt happy, Im not going to be either...and I would cut loose with no problems if they werent happy. Continuing my second point, I take up issue with the company for expecting an expatriate to accommodate almost entirely their entire integration including the cost to it...I would have been saving the company enough in training costs to more than cover my kids schooling...that isn't wanting more...its wanting whats fair.
Cheers,
tesox