Interpreters United: We Fight, We Feast and We Celebrate
Last week, I wrote a short piece on the London demonstration when hundreds of professional interpreters gathered together in front of the MoJ building and House of Commons, in a glorious show of solidarity against Ministry of Justice’ Framework Agreement (FWA) to offer all interpreting services through an agency, effectively depriving many qualified interpreters of our livelihood and professional pride.
The Fight is still on, as the MoJ contract is yet to be scrapped, and my colleagues nationwide, across a variety of languages, continue our boycott. The media is behind our cause; many professional interpreters would rather leave the profession than sign up with the agency in question. For many of us, it is a hard choice to refuse direct bookings from the Courts and Asylum and Tribunal Services (AIT), but as long as the FWA is still in force, accepting work would mean propping up an unsustainable system.
Read more here, and watch a video on the demo on YouTube :)