The EU border agency Frontex has been accused of exploiting staff by using a contractor who it is claimed offers interpreters an effective wage of less than €2.50 (£2.11) an hour.
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Aug 15, 2022
EU border agency accused of exploiting interpreters ‘paid under €2.50 an hour’
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polishedwords
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Germany
Local time: 14:29
English to Czech
+ ...
... is here:
https://www.change.org/p/good-working-conditions-and-fair-salaries-for-frontex-cultural-mediators-interpreters
Local time: 16:29
English to Arabic
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https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/aug/14/eu-border-agency-frontex-accused-exploiting-interpreters-pay
Sheesh! That is your side of the story?
€12.5 : €20 per hour of interpretation? The person m... See more
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/aug/14/eu-border-agency-frontex-accused-exploiting-interpreters-pay
Sheesh! That is your side of the story?
€12.5 : €20 per hour of interpretation? The person making that statement seemed awfully proud of it, right? 😝😂
When a person is an "interpreter", and still accepts €2.50 an hour, that person can NOT say they are being "exploited".
"Exploited" is when the hour should be priced at €1,000, and the company pressures the person to accept only €800.
But, "€2.50 an hour" is just SLAVERY.
I'm not going to sign the petition. Because, a petition is not the right course of action. Any such an interpreter suffering like that should just severe ties once their 1-2 months contract comes to an end, and never look back.
He/she could drive a Tuk-Tuk in a third-world country and come up with a similar amount, if not more, by the end of the day! ▲ Collapse
Portugal
Local time: 13:29
Member (2007)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
I've signed the petition but as the agency in question has a BB here, I'm surprised that no one until now has said anything about this matter. It deserves a series of 1s, doesn't it?
P.S. For my part, I've never worked with them and I'm not an interpreter...
[Edited at 2022-08-16 07:12 GMT]
Netherlands
Local time: 14:29
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
What does this mean?
Also, currently our schedule is adjusted afterwards if we work hours outside our schedule to reduce working hours on paper.
Russian Federation
Local time: 15:29
Italian to Russian
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"SeproTec rejected the allegations as “flagrantly biased”, saying its salaries were between five and eight times greater than what the petition said."
Between 10,000-16,000 euro per month? Not 1,800-2,000?
United States
Local time: 06:29
Member (2003)
English to Italian
+ ...
According to the Guardian's article, the company claims that interpreters end up working around 32 hours / week. That means that, if they are paid 2,000 euro/month, they get paid around 15 euro/hour, which is indeed about six times the 2.5 euro of the petition... but that is frankly a miserable pittance if the interpreters are supposed to be available 24/7. Any hour in which a person is supposed to be available should be paid, but, apparently, the agency in question is not doing so.
Russian Federation
Local time: 15:29
Italian to Russian
+ ...
I see, the hourly wages are higher than it's been petitioned
then the true cause of their discontent may be feeling abandoned by the management, feeling that overall civil status is dropping in the isolation camp environment
In theory, this may be the motive of an additional bargaining. Everybody knows that human psychology is a volatile thing
[Edited at 2022-08-17 09:11 GMT]
United States
Local time: 08:29
Japanese to English
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Da evitare!
United Kingdom
Local time: 13:29
Member (2008)
Italian to English
What does this mean?
Also, currently our schedule is adjusted afterwards if we work hours outside our schedule to reduce working hours on paper.
I think it means.....
"If, to reduce working hours on paper, we work hours outside our schedule, our schedule is adjusted afterwards"
Which also makes no sense. I wouldn't work with anyone, in English, who can't write correct unambiguous English.
Local time: 16:29
English to Arabic
+ ...
What does this mean?
Also, currently our schedule is adjusted afterwards if we work hours outside our schedule to reduce working hours on paper.
I think it means.....
"If, to reduce working hours on paper, we work hours outside our schedule, our schedule is adjusted afterwards"
Which also makes no sense. I wouldn't work with anyone, in English, who can't write correct unambiguous English.
Correct segmentation is key to successful understanding:
***Also, if we work hours outside our schedule, currently our schedule is adjusted afterwards to reduce working hours on paper.***
He is clearly saying they [the company] put less hrs on paper than the actual ones he [and others] provided.
He seems to be saying that they don't add the [whole sum of] overtime hrs.
My understanding, as per his words:
Day 1: 4hrs within schedule + 6hrs outside schedule = 8hrs (4 in + 4 out). With 2hrs unaccounted for!
Day 2: 8hrs within schedule + 3hrs outside schedule = 8hrs (8 in). With 3hrs unaccounted for!
Maybe if he is around here, he could further clarify!
Portugal
Local time: 13:29
Member (2007)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
As far as I know there were other successful tenderers, besides the Spanish agency mentioned in “The Guardian” article, so I wonder what the others are paying…
[Edited at 2022-08-19 15:47 GMT]
Netherlands
Local time: 14:29
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
What does this mean?
Also, currently our schedule is adjusted afterwards if we work hours outside our schedule to reduce working hours on paper.
It may be that they are paid more for work outside of schedule than for work inside of schedule, e.g. U$15 per hour inside schedule and $20 per hour outside schedule, and that the schedule is adjusted afterwards to move the worked hour from a non-scheduled position to a scheduled position. Or, it could mean that if an interpreter is contacted to "come and work for 4 hours" and they end up working only work for 3 hours, that the schedule is adjusted to 3 hours, even though the interpreter had booked himself out for 4 hours. Or, it could even mean that if the interpreter works for 30 minutes on Monday and Tuesday, that this is counted as "1 hour" in the books instead of 2 hours.
Whatever the case, it would seem that the schedule is adjusted afterwards to create an impression that is favourable to the agency and to the interpreter's disadvantage.
Netherlands
Local time: 14:29
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
I see, the hourly wages are higher than it's been petitioned.
Then the true cause of their discontent may be feeling abandoned by the management, feeling that overall civil status is dropping in the isolation camp environment.
The petitioner says that they are expected to be available at half an hour's notice, at all hours of the day. Presumably, they're not being paid anything for being on stand-by. They're only paid for actual hours worked.
In other words, an interpreter can't supplement his income with other work because the agency expects him to be able to drop everything and be there within half an hour, at any time (and migrants can arrive at any hour of the day or night).
It is unclear what the employment relationship is, and what sanctions the agency can apply to an interpreter who refuses to attend, but I get the impression that interpreters are required to relocate to the area, so it would be a financial disaster for such an interpreter if an agency were to decide to stop using his services. The agency is "expecting" the interpreter to be always available, and if he isn't, they can punish him by stopping sending him work, and this work is his main source of income.
The way the petitioner speaks of a "schedule" leads me to believe that there are multiple interpreters and they are given a schedule of when they're supposed to work, but the schedule isn't followed. Instead, interpreters are told/asked to work outside of the scheduled hours, and are expected to be available to do so. This is not really the agency's fault, because the concept of a "schedule" is pretty meaningless in these types of situations where it is impossible to tell beforehand when the migrants will arrive and how many of them will require assistance.
Russian Federation
Local time: 15:29
Italian to Russian
+ ...
This is not really the agency's fault, because the concept of a "schedule" is pretty meaningless in these types of situations where it is impossible to tell beforehand when the migrants will arrive and how many of them will require assistance.
there is an alternative view: fishermen are paid for time onboard, not for the harvest
[Edited at 2022-08-20 10:53 GMT]
United Kingdom
Local time: 13:29
Serbian to English
+ ...
Stretching (a supposedly guaranteed?) monthly salary to every hour of the day in every day of the month for the purpose of calculating "the hourly rate" makes for some very "creative accounting". Applying the same "cosmetic surgery" to the average UK salary (£568 per week for regular pay in J... See more
Stretching (a supposedly guaranteed?) monthly salary to every hour of the day in every day of the month for the purpose of calculating "the hourly rate" makes for some very "creative accounting". Applying the same "cosmetic surgery" to the average UK salary (£568 per week for regular pay in June 2022) you could claim that people work in UK for £3.37 per hour (£568 / 7days / 24hrs).
Not even the most hardcore trade unionist would dream of twisting numbers in this way. They know full well they would be laughed out of the negotiating room if they tried. I don't feel like defending someone twisting numbers in this way as "negotiating tactics". That's the wrong kind of tactics.
They might well be a lot of very legitimate grievances - outsourcing usually creates a lot of them - but presenting them in this way is a farce.
What is relevant and meaningful is the number of hours effectively worked in one month. And what are the specifics of the contract - is it contract with a monthly salary (looks like it is the case) or does the contract say "€2.50 for one hour worked" (which I very much doubt), what are provisions for balancing the workload, and many other forgotten "small details". ▲ Collapse
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