A life lesson: Foreign teaching assistants in Spain suffer over wages

Hundreds of British language assistants in Valencia say what was a dream job has turned into a nightmare with salaries being paid months late or not at all in some cases, reports Conor Faulkner

File photo: Students wearing face masks and sitting at a distance from each other attend class at a municipal school in Valencia, 7 September 2020 (AFP via Getty Images)

“I suffered from acute insomnia,” Jesse says, “waiting for payments and wondering if I’d be able to pay rent that month, buy groceries, or pay for transportation.”

The 28-year-old, from Seattle, is one of hundreds of part-time English teachers that have been left without pay for months at a time in the Valencia region of southern Spain.

More than 1,200 auxilliares de conversacion – known as language assistants or “auxes” – work across the region, but most have had to deal with their salaries arriving months late. Some are still yet to see a penny for their work this school year.