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| Artist : http://www.levalet.org/la-chute |
Some good news today: massive boycotting works wonders. Capita, major interpreting agency, featured in our list, is facing some serious difficulties, as a result of its poor decisions and lack of business ethics.
It looks like this company is finally getting the backlash it deserves for its greediness. The boycott started as a reaction to its decision to stop paying for transport costs. Interpreters have also been fed up for too long with the low rates Capita offers (about 20 pounds an hour). The boycott has had a serious, immediate effect on their reputation and they are now on the verge of collapsing. Despite the absence of collective union for freelance interpreters, the mobilisation was unanimous and the sanction radical:
http://www.exaronews.com/articles/4963/capita-contract-for-court-interpreters-veers-towards-collapse
Their history so far:
"Capita is the company that acquired Applied Language Solutions in Dec 2011.They subsequently were granted the exclusive interpreting contract for British criminal courts, and then bungled the job to a fair-the-well through poor decisions (cut interpreter rates, refusing to pay travel) and management, resulting in the current mess in court interpreting in the UK. I refuse to work with them on those grounds alone.They also have a poor payment record (to be fair, some of which was inherited from ALS) but there have also been several negative reports on Payment Practices and other forums since the takeover." Subscribers can see details on:
http://www.paymentpractices.net/Subscribers/Agency.aspx?id=6242.
Some further revelations from a former Capita employee can be found here:
http://barnetalliance.org/2013/06/03/from-within-reveltions-from-a-former-capita-employee/
I personally read that as a great encouragement for translators to keep communicating and networking, in order to bring down such irresponsible and disrespectful companies. To view companies worth boycotting, please check our updated blacklist.
In your opinion, which are the translation companies damaging the profession most, and which one would you like to see professionals boycott?
2 comments:
Hi, yes. Interpreting and translation company, huge chunk of public sector contracts (Home Office, Dept. of Work and Pensions, Probation Services, National Health Services, Local Authorities) in the UK, and I understand also very well placed globally. Agency writes asking me to send copies of my vetting clearance papers, I ignore it, but they ring me up to offer Public Service interpreting work regularly. Agency sends email "sign new T&C or you will be excluded from our register. I do not reply thinking yeah, at last now they will stop ringing me. No, they still try:- I have an urgent request etc, etc. No vetting papers, no signed agreement but still handsomely exploitable. Ain't I lucky?
Alas, this post is dated 2013, we are now in 2015 and Capita Interpreting is still going strong! Rumours of its demise were grossly exaggerated. Capita as a whole is a hugely inefficient company but they are loved by this government and as a result they cannot put a foot wrong. The Cabinet Office that handed over three million pounds to Kids Company, no questions asked, has been even more generous with Capita and will continue to do so. No matter that judges are in despair over the poor service, interpreters who never appear in court, those who cannot interpret their own name, etc. etc. The laugh is on the taxpayer. This "wonderful" idea of outsourcing the entire interpreting service in the UK to some cheapo company situated on the desolate Yorkshire Moors was going to save the taxpayer 18 million a year! It has almost certainly COST the taxpayer double that in missed court appearances etc. But then who cares about the taxpayer?
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