Interpreters stay away from courts in protest at privatised contract
Owen Bowcott and Tom Midlane
As many as 1,000 interpreters are boycotting a privatised contract to supply linguistic services to all English and Welsh courts, resulting in postponed hearings, suspects being released and compensation claims.
The revolt within the professional community against cut-price employment terms imposed by Applied Language Solutions is spreading amid criticism of the quality of interpreting supplied by the Oldham-based firm.
The five-year deal with the Ministry of Justice, which began on 1 February, is intended to save £18m a year out of an annual budget of £60m. ALS also has exclusive contracts to supply translation services to the London 2012 Olympics and a number of NHS trusts.
Pour citer cette ressource :
"Interpreters stay away from courts in protest at privatised contract", La Clé des Langues [en ligne], Lyon, ENS de LYON/DGESCO (ISSN 2107-7029), février 2012. Consulté le 03/12/2023. URL: https://cle.ens-lyon.fr/anglais/archives/archives-revue-de-presse/interpreters-stay-away-from-courts-in-protest-at-privatised-contract