20 May 2013 by Catherine Baksi
Court interpreters reject
new contract deal
Courts are being disrupted on a ‘daily basis’ as
interpreters continue to boycott the private sector contract for translation
services, despite a peace move by the Ministry of Justice, an interpreters
group claimed this week.
The ministry last month revealed that it would foot
the bill for a 22% rise in payments made to court interpreters in a bid to
attract more to work under a controversial contract with Capita that has been
blamed for widespread disruption over the past 15 months.
Professional Interpreters for Justice, an umbrella
group of interpreters’ organisations that oppose the contract, said their
members have rejected the new deal and will still not work for the company.
The group wants to see the contract, which has been
criticised by two high-profile parliamentary committees and the National Audit
Office, scrapped.
The group claims that ‘incidences of interpreter
no-shows and poor-quality interpreting’ are disrupting courts on a ‘daily
basis’.
A hearing in a quadruple murder case at Nottingham
Crown Court was postponed this month after a Mandarin interpreter booked for
defendant Anxiang Du failed to turn up.
Mr Justice Flaux told the court that his clerk had
received a message saying it was ‘not worthwhile’ for the interpreter to turn
up because they ‘would not make enough money’. He described the situation as ‘a
complete disgrace’.
A Capita spokeswoman said the firm at no time
refused to provide an interpreter on ‘cost or any other grounds’.
She said: ‘After the original interpreter booked to
attend the hearing was unable to attend, Capita Translation and Interpreting
worked to secure a replacement.
‘The replacement interpreter could not attend until
2:30pm and we communicated this, in good time, to the court.’
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