Speak Up, Speak out - The issues
NUPIT - the National Union of Professional
Interpreters and Translators - is a branch of Unite, Britain’s
biggest union which represents 1.5 million members working across
the economy. NUPIT’s primary purpose is to campaign for the future
of interpreting and translation services; to meet the needs of its
members and clients.
Back “Speak Up, Speak Out” - the NUPIT campaign to save
professional interpreting and translation services.
What issues need to be addressed?
Qualifications, credentials and vetting: All interpreters
working within the criminal justice system must be fully qualified.
If not, trials could break down or an injustice carried out, at a
huge cost to the client and state. To prevent identity theft -
which does happen - all professional interpreters’ credentials must
be routinely checked. This doesn’t happen at present.
Professional interpreters and translators require a range of
minimum standards, qualifications and experience. NUPIT believes
that each should be assigned a coloured card to inform the service
and client the level that their interpreter has attained, as
currently occurs with sign language interpreters on their ID
badges. This would prevent agencies utilising unqualified
linguists, or those that simply speak a second language.
Interpreters should also only accept work within their
competency, or face a conduct procedure, like other registered
professions. Vetting procedures should be carried out prior to the
qualified interpreter taking up any assignment.
Agencies: Resulting from agencies severely
cutting interpreters’ pay and conditions, some agencies find
themselves short of available qualified interpreters for certain
assignments, since qualified professionals can’t afford to stay.
They therefore only have access to unqualified interpreters which
could compromise the quality of service and greatly increase the
probability of a mistake occurring. The consequences could cause
the imprisonment of an innocent person or see someone who was not
responsible for a crime or accident found at fault.
NUPIT believes that agencies should not be able to assign work
to unqualified interpreters, even if they speak the language well.
Standards must be set and enforced, rather than agencies being
self-regulating and remaining unaccountable.
Outsourcing: Outsourcing is a false economy.
Whilst the Ministry of Justice has highlighted the costs associated
with booking and paying interpreters individually, it has not
mentioned the costs of using agencies. The unintentional
consequences of such decisions, will lead to a rapid reduction in
the pool of public service interpreters. In Scotland, in 2009, a
contract to provide court services was contracted to a commercial
agency resulting in a mass exodus of qualified interpreters. Such
services are known for their poor quality in interpreting, delays,
and abandoned trials and miscarriages of justice could occur. In
fact several court cases have been thrown out because of poor
interpreting.
The National Agreement: The National Agreement
should become statutory to provide a sound foundation to ensure
quality services. This - together with the National Register’s
plans for an independent regulatory body - form what the judiciary
needs for the future. Only interpreters who have undergone the
professional training and passed the exams, should get the
opportunity to deliver services under the National Agreement.
People’s future lives depend on this work being carried out
accurately. If they do not have the right training or skill, they
simply cannot do the job objectively and appropriately. The
National Agreement allows for exceptions in a narrowly defined set
of circumstances where clients speak a ‘rare language’; this must
be justifiable and documented. The National Register and the
National Agreement must be maintained.
The EU Directive: The European Commission has
adopted the EU directive on the rights to interpretation and
translation in criminal proceedings. It means that this directive
must now be adopted into domestic legislation of member states
within three years. For more information of the directive please
visit the European
Parliament site or the
European Area of Freedom Security & Justice blog.
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Unite/NUPIT online
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