http://aiic.net/page/6334/our-lips-are-sealed-what-we-are-fighting-for-in-the-uk-and-why
By
Marc Starr
Our
lips are sealed: what we are fighting for in the UK and why
[…] "Interpreters
and translators have been portrayed as leech-like animals, sucking resources
out of the public purse. First of all, we have shown what the wider costs of
not using us are. Secondly, where do you think our pay goes? On various taxable
goods and services that go back into the exchequer. Thirdly and perhaps most
interestingly, and speaking for myself, even when doing public service
interpreting, my work did include some written translation and some of that was
for overseas clients. That means our skills bring revenue into the UK exchequer
from other economies. We are, effectively, exporters to some extent. The UK
government should be proud of us. Instead, we have spent three years as virtual
pariahs.
Whatever
the MOJ wants to misguidedly believe, the events of 2012 have vindicated my
insistence to colleagues that we did have a skill that was as rare and valuable
as we believed. Interpreters do not want to be seen as concentrating on rates.
The only way to resolve this is to recognise the standing of the profession,
retain the talent there is, and build on it. This is what the MOJ was urged to
do in the first place by a profession that knew what would happen, but instead
they fell into the hands of Applied Language Solutions.
Most – in
fact, almost all – NRPSI interpreters just want to go back to work and be paid
a rate that is commensurate with our skills and that recognises the degree of
refinement that skill has, combined with the depth of experience and knowledge
we have. There is a song from the early 80s, recorded by both the Go-Gos and
Fun Boy Three, because it was co-written by members of each group, and it is
called “Our Lips Are Sealed”. Although the origins of the song’s lyrics are a far
cry from our situation, it still speaks volumes.
Until
there is some concrete action to make good on the crucial role we have now
proven we play, as far as police and court interpreting is concerned, I won’t
be taking on a single job – my lips remain sealed."
Read
more here: http://aiic.net/page/6334/our-lips-are-sealed-what-we-are-fighting-for-in-the-uk-and-why
http://www.politicshome.com/uk/article/64836/professional_interpreters_for_justice_justice_minister_invites_interpreters_to_crunch_meeting.html
1st November 2012
Professional
Interpreters for Justice: Justice Minister invites interpreters to crunch
meeting
Following parliamentary hearings where MPs on the House of Commons
Justice Select Committee and Public Accounts Committee exposed the
unfeasibility of the Ministry of Justice’s £42 million contract for court
interpreting, held by Capita; Justice Minister Helen Grant MP has taken up the
repeated calls by professional interpreters’ groups for talks and invited them
to meet and discuss ‘a way forward’.
Both the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) and the Justice Select
Committee (JSC) have heard evidence of the botched procurement process and
farcical administration of the contract by Capita, who bought Applied Language
Solutions at the end of 2011 before the contract was implemented on 30 January
2012.
Whilst the agreement to meet has been cautiously welcomed by ten
professional interpreter organisations represented by Professional Interpreters
for Justice, Guillermo Makin, Chairman, Society for Public Service Interpreting
(SPSI) has expressed disappointment at the Minister’s apparent lack of
understanding of the gravity of the current situation in courts. He says:
“The Framework Agreement (FWA) set up by the Ministry of Justice is
unsalvageable and whilst we are pleased that the Minister has accepted our
proposal to meet, we are disappointed that, given the compelling evidence of
the last two weeks, Ms Grant continues to believe the unverified, self-serving
performance figures served up by Capita Translation and Interpreting. These
figures are widely regarded as dubious to say the least and thus far remain
unverified by the Ministry of Justice, as pointed out by Baroness Coussins in
the Lords on July 9th[i]”.
This sentiment was echoed by Geoffrey Buckingham, Chairman, Association
of Police and Court Interpreters (APCI), who added: “We will be interested to
determine whether this is simply a case of the Minister ‘going through the
motions’ because the National Audit Office recommended it or whether the
Government is now ready to engage in genuine consultation, which so far they
have singularly failed to do.”
He continued; “Ms Grant has expressed a desire and a need to rebuild
trust with the interpreting community, yet one meeting does not represent a
trust building measure. This contract is not working and everybody knows it. We
believe the Minister needs to listen to how interpreters’ organisations can
help deliver language services more efficiently and save money in the public
interest, whilst serving the interests of justice”.
When faced with a barrage of questions by Margaret Hodge MP, Chair of
the PAC, on Monday, Capita refused to concede that the FWA should be modified
despite openly admitting that they now believed that key performance indicators
contained within the contract were “unrealistic” and “unachievable”.
Andy Parker, Joint Chief Operating Officer, Capita, when questioned,
said the company was aware of the resistance of professional interpreters to
work under the new system but had made no attempt to meet them. He said: “We
didn’t expect the amount of interpreters who have refused to work would
continue.”
Ms Hodge said “It sounds like chaos, frankly” and when she asked about
how many of the 1,000 court interpreters on the company’s books have been
properly assessed or had their qualifications checked, which Mr Parker could
not answer, she said: “I can’t believe you’re running this show and you don’t
have that figure”, adding, “it is frightening”.
As far back as February 2012 a spokesperson for ALS/Capita claimed they
already had 3,000 registered interpreters on their books[ii]. The hearings have
revealed that in point of fact only 280 of these had successfully completed the
assessment process by the start of the contract.
