Under the matchmaking of Anhui Bengbu Vocational College of Economics and Technology, students from the Tourism Department signed an employment agreement with Beijing Qicheng Boyun Technology Development Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Qicheng Company) at the time of enrollment, which will be responsible for students’ "specialized course teaching", as well as internship and employment issues.
Three years later, the students who signed the agreement in 2016 found that the internship arranged by the departure company was unsatisfactory, and the promised work was far away. In the process, they were also charged various deposits by the internship unit.
Relevant staff of Bengbu Vocational College of Economics and Technology responded to The Paper on July 8, saying that Zhou Chuanjun, assistant to the president, was actively contacting students, collecting contracts and payment bills, and preparing to sue the departure company.
The staff of Qicheng Company responded to The Paper on the same day, saying that the company "arranged internship positions for students according to the contract", which was "recognized" by the school and students, and denied that there was any breach of the contract.
The staff of Private Education Department of Anhui Education Department told The Paper that a special person had been sent to the school to understand the situation and urged the school to deal with it. The school may have the behavior that the management of students’ internship matters is not in place and they are suspected of illegal charges. Next, the Anhui Provincial Department of Education will require schools to negotiate with third-party companies on the situation of students as soon as possible in accordance with the law and regulations to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of students.
The agreement signed between the student and the departure company is provided by the interviewee.
Sign an employment agreement after entering school, and pay 16,000 yuan more for three years.
Feiyu (a pseudonym), a 2016 student of the Tourism Department of Bengbu Economic and Technical Vocational College, is one of the students who reflect the situation. He told The Paper that more than 60 people signed the agreement with him, forming a "high-speed train crew class".
The Employment Agreement for High-speed Train Crew Class provided by the students to The Paper shows that the agreement involves three parties, with Party A as the departure company, Party B as the student and Party C as the parent.
The above employment agreement shows that in order to ensure students’ smooth employment, adapt to market requirements, cultivate social practical talents with high quality, and combine study with employment, Party A, Party B and Party C now sign an employment contract on Party B’s employment after three years of study.
According to the agreement, the "internship employment direction" provided by Qicheng Company for contracted students includes Beijing, Harbin, Wuhan, Shandong, Shanghai and other places; "jobs" include high-speed rail flight attendants, high-speed train dining car waiters and VIP receptionists at Beijing South Railway Station; The "skills enhancement and employment placement fee" is 16,000 yuan, including 5,000 yuan in the first and second school years and 6,000 yuan in the last year, which is paid together with the school tuition, and the accommodation fee is free during the internship.
According to the agreement, Qicheng Company is responsible for the teaching of specialized courses in the first and second academic years, the internship and training in the third academic year, and the teaching and management during the period; Career guidance and employment arrangements for contracted students before employment. After signing the agreement, the company promised to ensure that students "have a post" in the above-mentioned jobs. "As for which specific post, students will compete to get it, but students are not allowed to designate their own posts or railway bureaus".
In addition, the company promised in the agreement that it would provide students with round-trip train fees and free accommodation during their internship before graduation. The validity period of this agreement is from September 1, 2016 to June 30, 2019, and it is stipulated that "if Party A cannot arrange Party B to the work area and post specified in the agreement, all expenses will be refunded" before the agreement expires.
Feiyu said that the payment for three years was 16,000 yuan. The first time, it was collected by the departing person, and later it was directly handed over to the financial department of the school. However, the invoices and receipts given by the financial department were stamped with the chapter of the departing company. In addition to 16,000 yuan, students have to pay 7,000 yuan to the school every year.
Internship and work assignment have not been fulfilled.
Within a few years after signing the contract, students gradually realized that "the problem is wrong." Many students told The Paper that the so-called "specialized course teaching" in the agreement is only a four-day "etiquette class" each academic year, with the contents of etiquette, figure and makeup, and the contents of the first and second academic years are the same. "Students generally think that the cost of these courses for two years and ten thousand yuan is very unequal. However, the school did not give an explanation. They said that this was an arrangement for departure and asked to leave. " Feiyu recalled.
By the third year, students went to the internship unit arranged by the departure company and found that the internship content and major were "different".
Feiyu told The Paper that in May this year, he and some of his classmates were taken to a trading company in Shenyang, which engaged in various sales and catering cleaning services. On the first day of arrival, they were asked to charge a deposit of 5,000 yuan, but the other party did not give a reasonable explanation. Many students refused to pay, so they were driven away by the internship unit and went back to school to wait for the second arrangement, but the follow-up internship still needed to pay fees. Free transportation and accommodation promised in the agreement have not been fulfilled.
Domi (pseudonym) and 25 other students were arranged to practice in a catering company in Qingdao, whose main job was "selling fruit on the train".
Domi told The Paper that before the internship, Departure Company said that only some students were "flight attendants" and the rest were "waiters", but upon arrival, they were told that all students were "waiters". On the second day of arrival, the departure company asked the students to pay 5,500 yuan to the internship unit, "for testing the flight attendant qualification certificate and clothing deposit", but the students received a receipt of 4,000 yuan.
The total recall obtained by The Paper showed that some students communicated with the relevant person in charge of the company and asked about the whereabouts of "1,500 yuan beyond the receipt". In the recording, the relevant person in charge said that 4,000 yuan was the deposit for the internship unit and the remaining 1,500 yuan was "black money", and said that the school also knew about it. As for the specific destination of the money, the person in charge is unwilling to talk about it.
Domi said that the students chose to quit after working in the above catering company for more than a month, and the deposit has not been returned so far.
Another student said that in November 2018, he went to Guangzhou for an internship, and the position promised by the departure company was "bar clerk". He received 11 days of training at Guangzhou South Railway Station, but was told that he could only work as a ground support clerk because he was not tall enough. Later, he was assigned to a local outsourcing company, "dragging boxes and moving things every day and leaving after three days".
Many students told The Paper that the "assignment after graduation" promised in the agreement had not been fulfilled because they were dissatisfied with the internship and had disputes with the departure company.
Xiao Yan (pseudonym), a student of the 2015 High-speed Train Attendant Class, told The Paper that the company had promised to "work in the railway bureau" after graduation, but the job it was assigned was not the railway bureau, and the job was not right, but an "outsourcing company" in Wuhan, which was "responsible for selling fruits on trains".
"The internship content does not match the contract, and the students are not satisfied with the assigned employment units. These situations have always existed, but the school has not solved them for us." Xiaoyan said that according to her understanding, one year after graduation, most of the 2015 contracted students left the work assigned by the departure company and found another job.
School: prepare to sue the cooperative unit.
Hu Yong, director of the Tourism Department of Bengbu Vocational College of Economics and Technology, told The Paper that the school has started to deal with this matter. "On behalf of the school, as a person, we are actively carrying out the next step for students. We are actively appeasing students and have made some promises for them. " Hu Yong said that the school will safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of students and the rights and interests of the school.
An informed teacher of the school told The Paper that the cooperation between the school and Qicheng Company began in 2015, and Hu Yong was mainly responsible for the enterprise qualification verification of school-enterprise cooperation, student internship and employment. "Last year (class of 2015) students reported these things to the school. At that time, the school was also actively contacting the departure. Later, the students had to go out for an internship, and this contact may be broken. However, the school said that Director Hu Yong has been cooperating with this matter. "
According to the above-mentioned teacher, Zhou Chuanjun, assistant dean of the school, is actively contacting students, collecting contracts and payment bills, and preparing to sue the departure company. Regarding the fact that some students questioned the school and started to "cooperate with students to divide money", the teacher said that "the school finance department has not received any money".
In an interview with the media, Zhou Chuanjun also said that in addition to the prescribed tuition, accommodation and book fees, the school has not charged any fees for students, nor will it violate the relevant documents. "In addition to the previous 16,000 yuan, there are also a number of amounts mentioned in the agreement, such as round-trip fares, accommodation fees, and additional deposits paid by students, which are our litigation requests."
Departure company: there is no violation of law and discipline.
In an interview with The Paper on July 8th, a manager surnamed Qi Cheng Company explained that the company "arranged internship positions for students according to the contract" and was "recognized" by the school and students, denying that the relevant arrangements "did not meet the requirements of the school or the contract". "Before students leave school for internship, they will go to the school for pre-job training and briefing, and then the school will issue a certificate of leaving school, and (we) will arrange internships."
Why is the internship to "sell fruit" to an outsourcing company? Manager Ren said that the sales work on the high-speed rail is a "rotation system". Whether it is selling souvenirs, meals or selling fruits and drinks, it is the specific work of waiters, but it belongs to different scopes and positions.
Manager Ren explained that some students went to internship units that were not directly signed by the high-speed rail system, but belonged to labor service companies or outsourcing companies, but this did not mean that they did not fulfill their commitments in the contract. "This is the case with many high-speed rail workers and high-speed railway station, and they are all reasonable and legal."
As for the "no refund of the deposit", Manager Ren said that this was because the students failed to complete the internship, quit in the middle of the internship, and did not return the uniforms, bags and other items issued by the internship unit according to the procedures.
"Before reaching a cooperation with the school, we passed the school inspection, and both sides had communication on matters such as contract signing, course details and charging standards. Every time enrollment, departure, school, students and parents will hold a meeting to explain the situation, and then an agreement will be signed. " Manager Ren stressed, "We are not buying and selling hard."
Manager Ren refused to answer whether the company had separate accounts with the school. "Because this involves something in the contract, there is no way to give a specific answer. After all, our cooperation with the school has not reached the point of legal proceedings, but if we take legal proceedings or the education department to verify it in the future, we have contracts with students, contracts with the school, and relevant evidence to see how the relevant functional departments can evaluate this matter. " Manager Ren said that the company did not violate any laws and disciplines, and its reputation suffered losses, and it will reserve the right to pursue the responsibilities of relevant parties.
Anhui Provincial Department of Education: The school or management is not in place and it is suspected of illegal charges.
The Paper noted that Article 15 and Article 6 of the Regulations on the Management of Students’ Internship in Vocational Schools promulgated by the Ministry of Education stipulated that vocational schools and internship units should protect the basic rights of interns according to law, and may not arrange and manage students’ internships through intermediaries or paid agencies.
Article 2 of the Notice on Further Strengthening the Management of Students’ Internship in Vocational Schools issued by the Department of Vocational Education and Adult Education of the Ministry of Education on March 5, 2019 stipulates that schools are strictly forbidden to transfer benefits between students’ internships and internship units and labor agencies, and collect labor fees and agency fees.
After this incident was reported by bloggers in Weibo, it caused heated public opinion. At present, the Anhui Provincial Department of Education has been involved in the investigation.
A staff member of the Private Education Department of Anhui Provincial Education Department told The Paper on July 8 that after the public opinion was found on the Internet at the beginning of the month, the Provincial Education Department attached great importance to it, and immediately asked the school to negotiate and deal with it according to the law, and then sent someone to the school to understand the situation and urge the school to deal with it.
According to the investigation of Anhui Provincial Department of Education, the school is still negotiating with third-party companies. During the investigation, the Education Department also found that there may be some behaviors in the management of students’ internship matters, such as inadequate management and suspected illegal charges. Next, the Anhui Provincial Department of Education will require schools to deal with third-party companies as soon as possible in accordance with the law and regulations to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of students.