A union for sign language interpreters was mooted many moons ago under a Chair of ASLI who was interested at the time. It was an unpopular idea with members and many at the time wanted to keep ASLI as the professional Association for BSL interpreters providing mentoring, training and a support network amongst other things.
The political landscape and the interpreting market have changed radically since then. From 2010 outsourcing has increased in scale and has been damaging to interpreters and the Deaf community they serve. This has been the main subject of many posts on this blog.
I’ve been a Unite member since the launch of NUPIT, the National Union of Professional Interpreters and Translators. Although many of the issues we face are similar to those of spoken language interpreters, there is enough of a difference in this current climate to have warranted a union specifically for sign language interpreters. And therefore NUBSLI was born, the National Union of British Sign Language Interpreters.
External representation is a large bulk of the work that ASLI has done recently given the membership’s concerns about the future of their work. It is frightening not only to experience cuts to terms and conditions but also to see the least experienced, and cheaper interpreters, being employed to do the highest risk jobs. All of which is doubly shocking when you consider the effects to the Deaf community, many of whom are our family and friends.
I have attended frustrating meetings with government as an ASLI representative and I believe we need a stronger voice with the weight of the politically aware behind us: the campaign officers of Unite.
In addition to this ASLI has tried to stay out of the Deaf community’s way in not talking about issues that the Deaf community need to be leading on. When it comes to Access to Work this is a red herring. There have been UKCOD meetings about the AtW changes that have included representatives from the following organisations:
SignHealth, Clarion, Action on Deafness, NDCS, BDA, RAD, BID, AOHL, Sense and NRCPD.
Any interpreter reading that list may note that in the talks about interpreting, of the ten organisations mentioned no less than six have an interest in interpreting as providers of interpreting services. The profits of which will be potentially funding their organisations. One is the register of interpreters, NRCPD. The other three, as Deaf organisations, will be heavy users of interpreters and therefore this is a cost to them.
What I am getting at is that there is no clear voice from interpreters in either UKCoD meetings or meetings with government at ministerial level. It leaves me cold that the future of my profession is being potentially decided by those that perhaps do not fully understand interpreting (the length and cost of training, cost of staying in the profession, day to day challenges, costs of sick/adoption/maternity/carers leave, health and safety concerns) and worse still, have a vested interest in ensuring interpreters are paid less.
The more BSL interpreters that are part of the union the stronger our voice will become. The more Deaf interpreters that are part of the union the stronger our voice will become. The more Deaf people that support the union, the more likely it is that quality interpreter provision will still be accessible after any future AtW changes.
The first NUBSLI meeting is next week on Wednesday 25th June 6.30pm at Unite head office in London. Will you be joining in?
More info about why you should join NUBSLI
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AtW
There are 15 posts tagged AtW (this is page 5 of 8).
Tories Limit Access to Work
The Sayce report stated the value of Access to Work (AtW) to Deaf and disabled people and the value to the economy of more people in work. Yet this is another area the Conservatives are attacking with cuts.
We have another move by government that will see interpreters again being undervalued, under-respected and underemployed. So far in the area of work that is publicly funded we have seen that Deaf people rarely get a registered, trained interpreter for any medical appointments. The next area to be hit was the courts and police stations. Were it not for work done by ASLI at the time we would have level 3 British Sign Language holders attempting to interpret legal jargon in courts or maybe even worse. Still, the way in which interpreter provision has proceeded via a monopoly contract has meant that problems have still occurred, fees are being squeezed and as a result less experienced interpreters are working in court. Now we have AtW as the next area hit by the latest round of cuts to Deaf people and interpreters.
The 38 degrees campaign continues. The BDA is doing some excellent work. Their report is available from their website. The only criticism of the report is that it states that interpreters will not take full time salaried jobs. Following on from the AtW policy that Deaf people with over 30 hours provision must seek a salaried interpreter and those that can not must take a rate cut equivalent to a salaried interpreter (less than half of a freelance rate, worse if you have been sourcing via an agency). It is not that interpreters will not, it is that many can not. Many interpreters do take salaried positions but those that do not have their reasons. We are a profession with many part time workers, many women, some of whom are mothers. We need variety, contact with many Deaf people, in many areas of work to maintain our skills in processing. It is an unworkable policy for many interpreters as well as Deaf people who prefer that variety, prefer to have two interpreters for some meetings and time when they do not have an interpreter present. Many DWP staff were claiming this policy had been created in consultation with ASLI. That was refuted by ASLI and DWP have since agreed and sent a message to all their advisors asking them not to make these claims.
Aside from interpreters, if Deaf people are expected to employ interpreters that comes with additional responsibility outside of their ordinary work that they should not be expected to bear. DWP have stated that on costs of employment are to be paid by AtW but that is not the reality on the ground. What employer is going to employ a Deaf person if they then have to employ an interpreter too with the additional risks of maternity leave, sick leave, absences, potential disciplinaries…? This reduction in flexibility and right of choice can only lead to even more discrimination for Deaf people.
So what now?
Many ASLI members are still writing to their MPs as well as responding to them after work done by the ASLI AtW group. Their AtW report coming out soon reporting on members’ experiences and the challenges they face in not being able to work confined by these unworkable DWP policies.
After the Deaf Lobby Day on Monday where many Deaf people attended parliament, an Early Day Motion has now been tabled against the discriminatory AtW changes. Please ask your MP to sign the EDM and stop the Conservatives from attscking more of those that use state services and support and the professions that facilitate these services.