Supporting the ACCI
Donation protected
Over the last five years, the interpreting profession has been degraded significantly. Five years ago, public service interpreting was on the brink. As the outgoing qualified interpreters put it with brutal candour, 'nothing short of shambolic’. Since then, we have seen the rates go down consistently.
Public Service Interpreting in Britain is now one of the worst systems in the world. We have no legal standing, no legislation and no status. We have halved our income. More interpreters are claiming benefits than ever before. The profession is weak and getting weaker every day. Every change since 2011 has seen our rates lowered.
This has not happened by accident. It is the result of commercial outsourcers lowering the rates to unsustainable level. Above all, it is the product of a supreme lack of coordination within the profession, in which no sacrifices were made by many professional bodies and everyone involved in consultations in 2011 has played their part.
It is a profound ACCI’s belief that our profession can once again be made great not through the action of the association alone, but through the flair, the ingenuity and hard work of its members - and so it has proved the last five years that divisions didn’t benefit the profession in any way.
We can be ashamed of what we have not achieved so far through various initiatives, and especially so that as we have taken hard decisions to trust our money to people who didn’t deliver, we haven’t protected the status of interpreting, with some 2000 registered colleagues in 2012 the pool has increased to some 5000 of which a lot do not hold bona fide qualifications, and did not ensure any increase in already deflated rates.
Our friends and competitors overseas look at public service interpreting in Britain, and they see a system that is putting the frontline colleagues at the bottom, a system on the fall. They see a system that does not deliver sustainable wages to interpreters. But our BSL colleagues have remained united and strong. It is fragile, and with the wrong decisions, it could easily collapse, as we have recently seen the case of a major agency bankruptcy.
So the central questions at this stage are these: how do we reverse the current situation, upon which our ambitions for our profession depend? And how do we make sure that the change benefits both the profession and the government, at every stage of the process?
This letter outlines our plan to do just that. It is a plan for a better public service interpreting - for you and for the country. It is a plan for every stage of our professional life. For when you want to enter the profession there will be clear guidelines. For when you want to qualify, there will be the correct level of qualifications available. As you look to start working in the profession, we are building a robust system that will provide you with 80% fee going into your wallet. As you look to develop your skills, we will make sure the ACCI is there to help. And as you grow older, the changes we bring now will ensure that you have dignity in retirement.
Throughout, we will make sure that the system is fair for all, not just a chosen few.
And in an increasingly uncertain jobs market, we will keep fighting for standards, qualifications and remuneration.
But all of these things depend on a large number of members who are committed to change.
So as you consider which organisation to choose, I hope you will ask this: which organisation is best placed to deliver the change? The organisation which have grown from ZERO members to 116 in just 3 months, with 782 forum members and which has delivered the plan to provide the professionals with jobs, which created more engagement with all the professionals than the rest of the organisations put together; or the organisations which left behind a ruined profession just five short years ago?
Now is a time to build on the work we have put in since November 2016, not to put it all at risk. This is our plan of action - our plan to take our amazing profession forward. Above all, it is a plan for all colleagues.
I hope you will give it your support, so that together, we can see through the task we have begun. Join us today so we can start representing your interests.
Outline of the plan:
1. An economic plan to help the profession. Our commitment to you: to create partnerships and solutions which will give you 80% of the rate paid by the government.
2. Jobs for all qualified interpreters. With 12.000 jobs per month just within the Justice System there is enough to provide decent income to qualified colleagues. And with thousands more jobs across public services, there is enough jobs to allow more colleagues to train and qualify.
3. Cutting agency’s margins to deliver the savings the country needs and sustainable wages professionals cannot live without plus lobbying the government to enforce the agencies to provide qualified professionals.
4. The best CPD training, professional indemnity insurance and mental support packages.
5. Securing the sustainability of the profession.
6. Dignity in your retirement by creating profession you can retire from.
7. Keeping public services secure by providing qualified, vetted and accountable interpreters.
What have we done to date?
To date we have been vocal and active on the national level.
- formed links with numerous public and private sector organisations to work together towards our goal of securing the interpreting profession
- actively work together with members and forum members
- organised meetings across the country
- actively work in the media, social media discussing the issues the profession is facing
- regularly meet and lobby MPs
- actively research the situation of public service interpreting in the UK
- set up a decision making platform for members
- developed a forum app for Android and IOS Android: https://goo.gl/zF9Jcx IOS: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/acci-forum/id1202541611?mt=8
- negotiated £20 discount offer for indemnity insurance for members
- enabled members to apply for enhanced DBS through the ACCI
- started Interpreters’ Voice Magazine for members
What will your money achieve?
- IT support and IT infrastructure development for our growing organisation and online campaigns
- Media, Public Relations so that our stories are heard not being silenced
- Social Media management
- Research
- Creation of a Charity or so we can offer qualifications for interpreters
- Support package for members
- Offer quality, qualified and accountable interpreters to both public and private sector with streamlined payroll processing and low commissions through our cooperative and partners
Please give generously so we can continue fighting for our rights.
You can find us here:
Find out more: https://acciglobal.org
Facebook https://facebook.com/groups/acciglobal
Twitter https://twitter.com/acciglobal
LinkedIN https://www.linkedin.com/company/acci-association-of-certified-interpreters
Join mailing list here: http://eepurl.com/cuEn2f
Public Service Interpreting in Britain is now one of the worst systems in the world. We have no legal standing, no legislation and no status. We have halved our income. More interpreters are claiming benefits than ever before. The profession is weak and getting weaker every day. Every change since 2011 has seen our rates lowered.
This has not happened by accident. It is the result of commercial outsourcers lowering the rates to unsustainable level. Above all, it is the product of a supreme lack of coordination within the profession, in which no sacrifices were made by many professional bodies and everyone involved in consultations in 2011 has played their part.
It is a profound ACCI’s belief that our profession can once again be made great not through the action of the association alone, but through the flair, the ingenuity and hard work of its members - and so it has proved the last five years that divisions didn’t benefit the profession in any way.
We can be ashamed of what we have not achieved so far through various initiatives, and especially so that as we have taken hard decisions to trust our money to people who didn’t deliver, we haven’t protected the status of interpreting, with some 2000 registered colleagues in 2012 the pool has increased to some 5000 of which a lot do not hold bona fide qualifications, and did not ensure any increase in already deflated rates.
Our friends and competitors overseas look at public service interpreting in Britain, and they see a system that is putting the frontline colleagues at the bottom, a system on the fall. They see a system that does not deliver sustainable wages to interpreters. But our BSL colleagues have remained united and strong. It is fragile, and with the wrong decisions, it could easily collapse, as we have recently seen the case of a major agency bankruptcy.
So the central questions at this stage are these: how do we reverse the current situation, upon which our ambitions for our profession depend? And how do we make sure that the change benefits both the profession and the government, at every stage of the process?
This letter outlines our plan to do just that. It is a plan for a better public service interpreting - for you and for the country. It is a plan for every stage of our professional life. For when you want to enter the profession there will be clear guidelines. For when you want to qualify, there will be the correct level of qualifications available. As you look to start working in the profession, we are building a robust system that will provide you with 80% fee going into your wallet. As you look to develop your skills, we will make sure the ACCI is there to help. And as you grow older, the changes we bring now will ensure that you have dignity in retirement.
Throughout, we will make sure that the system is fair for all, not just a chosen few.
And in an increasingly uncertain jobs market, we will keep fighting for standards, qualifications and remuneration.
But all of these things depend on a large number of members who are committed to change.
So as you consider which organisation to choose, I hope you will ask this: which organisation is best placed to deliver the change? The organisation which have grown from ZERO members to 116 in just 3 months, with 782 forum members and which has delivered the plan to provide the professionals with jobs, which created more engagement with all the professionals than the rest of the organisations put together; or the organisations which left behind a ruined profession just five short years ago?
Now is a time to build on the work we have put in since November 2016, not to put it all at risk. This is our plan of action - our plan to take our amazing profession forward. Above all, it is a plan for all colleagues.
I hope you will give it your support, so that together, we can see through the task we have begun. Join us today so we can start representing your interests.
Outline of the plan:
1. An economic plan to help the profession. Our commitment to you: to create partnerships and solutions which will give you 80% of the rate paid by the government.
2. Jobs for all qualified interpreters. With 12.000 jobs per month just within the Justice System there is enough to provide decent income to qualified colleagues. And with thousands more jobs across public services, there is enough jobs to allow more colleagues to train and qualify.
3. Cutting agency’s margins to deliver the savings the country needs and sustainable wages professionals cannot live without plus lobbying the government to enforce the agencies to provide qualified professionals.
4. The best CPD training, professional indemnity insurance and mental support packages.
5. Securing the sustainability of the profession.
6. Dignity in your retirement by creating profession you can retire from.
7. Keeping public services secure by providing qualified, vetted and accountable interpreters.
What have we done to date?
To date we have been vocal and active on the national level.
- formed links with numerous public and private sector organisations to work together towards our goal of securing the interpreting profession
- actively work together with members and forum members
- organised meetings across the country
- actively work in the media, social media discussing the issues the profession is facing
- regularly meet and lobby MPs
- actively research the situation of public service interpreting in the UK
- set up a decision making platform for members
- developed a forum app for Android and IOS Android: https://goo.gl/zF9Jcx IOS: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/acci-forum/id1202541611?mt=8
- negotiated £20 discount offer for indemnity insurance for members
- enabled members to apply for enhanced DBS through the ACCI
- started Interpreters’ Voice Magazine for members
What will your money achieve?
- IT support and IT infrastructure development for our growing organisation and online campaigns
- Media, Public Relations so that our stories are heard not being silenced
- Social Media management
- Research
- Creation of a Charity or so we can offer qualifications for interpreters
- Support package for members
- Offer quality, qualified and accountable interpreters to both public and private sector with streamlined payroll processing and low commissions through our cooperative and partners
Please give generously so we can continue fighting for our rights.
You can find us here:
Find out more: https://acciglobal.org
Facebook https://facebook.com/groups/acciglobal
Twitter https://twitter.com/acciglobal
LinkedIN https://www.linkedin.com/company/acci-association-of-certified-interpreters
Join mailing list here: http://eepurl.com/cuEn2f
Organizer
Pawel Janicki
Organizer
