What should ALS do now? An update on the drama in the UK….
Here is one more update to the court interpreter drama unfolding in the UK. I was happy to see that this “stunt” (as the below article calls it) was done by Marie, who has left comments on this blog. I admire her for accurately displaying the lack of checks and balances at ALS BUT I also understand that many agencies use automatic emails. ALS is in a tough spot right now, each and every process and procedures they have is undergoing scrutiny. I daresay the company is not going to recover from this; they need to shut down, regroup, and open under another name. How does a company recover from a reputation crisis like this one?
Enjoy the article and leave your comments below. What should ALS do now? How in the world does the Ministry of Justice think that a company is going to come up with trained & qualified interpreters from one week to the next? Training people takes time!! If they don’t have a qualified linguist on Friday, how are they going to have one suddenly on Monday?
AN INTERPRETER has told how she registered her pet, Jajo the Rabbit, as a translator with a controversial Ministry of Justice-backed agency.
Marie Adamova says she successfully filled in an online application for carrot-chomping Jajo with Applied Language Solutions, which supplies linguists to West Midlands police and local courts.
The rabbit, she added, later received emails from the firm welcoming him aboard as a translator – and inviting him to an online seminar to learn more about his role.
The Czech interpreter, from Erdington, says she pulled the stunt as a protest against the company for allegedly causing “chaos” after taking over translator services for cops and Birmingham courts.
“It’s ridiculous,” said 46-year-old Marie, who has worked as a court interpreter for five years. I wasn’t surprised he was accepted because I knew they were not going to check anything.’’
Marie said she successfully filled in Jajo’s application form after registering his name, date of birth and an email address.
The rabbit later received a welcome email from the company which urged him not to “miss out” on future Ministry of Justice assignments. It added: “You are receiving this email as you have been identified as an interpreter.
‘‘If you still wish to gain work under the Framework Agreement, we advise you to return to the website and resume your registration.”
Marie says her ten-month old bunny was sent around 15 emails by ALS, including an invitation to be formally assessed. All the emails were signed off with the company slogan, “High quality language solutions delivered on time… with a smile!”
Earlier this month the Birmingham Mail, reported how foreign suspects were being allowed to walk free from police custody before questioning because of a shortage of interpreters from the service.
We told how officers have been forced to release some arrested foreign suspects on bail because they could not get interpreters for police station interviews.
On Tuesday, MP Gisela Stuart (Lab Edgbaston), highlighted the scandal to David Cameron in Parliament.
But, last night, an ALS spokeswoman said they could not find Jajo on their system.
She added: “Anyone can register their interest in becoming an interpreter for ALS. But they are still required to undergo assessment, security and qualification checks before being accepted as an ALS interpreter to work within the criminal justice system.
“I suspect that Jajo might fail such checks.”
What do you think of Jajo the Rabbit? How bad have things got that a rabbit has been able be registered as an interpreter?
Read More http://www.birminghammail.net/news/birmingham-news/2012/03/09/jajo-the-rabbit-hired-as-translator-at-birmingham-courts-97319-30493197/#ixzz1oeS9GPHb
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I interpret to help my own people. I cannot stand by and allow trials to be missed when I know I am capable of helping. I drive a taxi in my normal job but I like to work in the courts and would spend more time there if there were more hours. It makes me sad that people think interpreters are selfish or all about money. I know the registered interpreters have good hearts, they should go back to work. I would not stand by and let someone suffer or risk jail time if they couldn’t understand the legal system.
What a specious argument, Amadou Dem. People have to make a living, and the only way to stand up against a state that wants to deny the importance of their work is to withdraw labour. The responsibility risk of injustice falls at the door of ALS and the MoJ, not interpreters who won’t work for PEANUTS.
i know there are some interpreters that work primarily as a “hobby”, generally those that speak very rare languages. However, the interpreters in the UK situation were interpreters by trade, they had no other jobs. I assume you have another job, Mr Dem? People often don’t realize that interpreters generally do not receive mileage, travel time, or have taxes out. Those factors take a big chunk of one’s hourly rate!
GB
Dear Matei-
I am assuming you are an interpreter…..do you have an update on what the current situation is? What happens after the media attention has died down is what we are all wondering…………let us know if you know……
GB
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