15
January 2016
Home Office drops plans to
cut interpreter wages after boycott threat
The Home
Office has dropped plans to cut the wages of its pool of more than 2,000
interpreters following threats of a mass boycott, which could
have brought the system for processing immigration claims across the country to
a halt.
One
interpreter said: “The Home Office has performed a big U-turn here. We are
already well underpaid, having to travel for up to six hours a day to bookings
without any pay. They have kept our rates of pay at the same level since 2002
but it was too much when they told us at the end of last year that they were
actually going to cut our pay rates from 1 January. We are all very relieved
that these pay cuts have been abandoned.”
The Home
Office has more than 2,000 highly trained interpreters on its books, all of
whom have had to undergo counter-terrorism security clearance. It would be
difficult for the Home Office to replace the current pool of interpreters at
short notice.
Following
an article in the Guardian about the planned pay
cuts, officials from the Home Office’s Central Interpreters Unit agreed to meet
some of the interpreters to discuss their concerns about the planned pay cuts.
The Home
Office had initially announced that the pay cut would be postponed from 1
January 2016 until at least 1 February. However, on Friday the postponement was
scrapped and the Home Office said it is launching a fundamental review of
interpreter services including rates of pay.
In a note
to interpreters, the Home Office said: “This notification is to advise you that
following further internal discussions, the decision has been taken to adjourn
the planned rate change at this time with a view to commissioning a fundamental
review of interpreter services, including the interpreter rates of pay within
the scope of the review.
“Consequently, current Home Office interpreter
rates of pay remain in effect until further notice.”
Interpreters
currently receive £16 an hour on weekdays and slightly more at the weekend. But
the first hour’s work is paid at an enhanced rate to recognise the time and
cost of travelling to appointments. The Home Office had proposed that the
first-hour rate will be cut from £48 to £32 on weekdays and from £72 to £46 at
weekends.
Interpreters
are expected to travel up to three hours each way without extra payments from
the Home Office. They attend meetings between asylum seekers and others
interacting with immigration officials, and translate interview questions and
answers face to face. The pay cuts were due to apply to various areas of the
Home Office’s work, including UK Visas and Immigration, Border Force,
Immigration Enforcement and HM Passport Office.
The
interpreters planned to boycott all interpreting assignments offered on 1
January 2016 and to roll out a series of one-day boycotts after that.
Hundreds
signed a petition protesting about the planned wage reductions and a Twitter
and Facebook campaign was launched.
A
spokesman for Professional Interpreters for Justice, which protested strongly
to the Home Office about the planned cuts, welcomed the news.
“We are
delighted,” he said. “There is a whole range of government interpreting where
rates of pay are under threat. Today’s decision by the Home Office is the first
outbreak of common sense we’ve seen.”
A Home
Office spokesperson said: “We keep our costs under constant review to ensure
the contractors we use offer the best value for money for the taxpayer.
“As part
of these considerations, we have decided to commission a fundamental review of
interpreter services. Interpreter rates of pay will be considered within the
scope of the review.
“The planned
rate change will be adjourned pending this review and current rates of pay
remain in effect.”
