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When Interpreters speak of being paid the minimum wage, it is a factual statement! At every juncture, Interpreters are subjected to the most degrading treatment my commercial agencies as they are what it says on the tin! 'Commercial Agency' - there to make money. The former contractor Capita-ti gave up after 3 years, unable to turn a profit. The new contractor is contributing to the legacy of driving the interpreting profession to extinction. What can be more absurd as offering a job say in a Central London Court for a 09.00 attendance, but fails to recognise peak hour public transport costs (typical travelcard - £35.00+). From an Interpreters perspective 4 hour travel and 1 work, with limited chance of securing a second job that sameday and returning home with possibly £30-40 x 5 days or 20 working days in a month; it does not take long to understand that the interpreting profession is no longer a profession. It is something that housewives do on the way to or back from the supermarket. It is nothing but wishful thinking of the Court Service and their sole contractor to think that things will improve given the joint approach of continuing to bury their heads in the sand. As to the poor Barristers facing perhaps a complex/lengthy, fraud/murder trial, it can be more work on top of already a heavy workload. It has not gone unnoticed that Barristers are still trying 'case prepare and obtain basic instructions' on first day of trial using court Interpreters, when in fact Court Interpreters are contractually barred from facilitating conferences! A number of leading prosecutors have found that Prosecution Interpreters are not quite up to the mark when it comes to perhaps 'covert surveillance'. When in fact such assignments had been previously undertaken by Interpreters providing specialised services.
However, there remains some hope when Barristers like Adam Davis QC and Tim Forte of 3 Temple Chambers and Prosecutors like Jane Bickerstaff of 9 Bedford Row will not shy away from putting their head above the parapet and highlighting the vacuum that is getting bigger and bigger, as more and more Interpreters chose to stay away from the courts as they cannot afford to attend!