By Fardous Bahbouh, PhD researcher specialising in equality and political economy

Dear Baroness Coussins,

Thank you for your previous correspondence in response to my concerns about the poor pay and working conditions of public service interpreters. I was honoured to receive your replies at the time.

I write today with a heavy heart. While I recognise your passion for languages, I was deeply disappointed by the recently published excerpt of your keynote speech at Glasgow University on the CIOL website.

Regrettably, the challenges that interpreters and translators face—particularly in relation to their well-being and financial security—were absent from the excerpt. I tried to locate the full version of your speech online, but without success.

As we discussed in our earlier correspondence, academic research, including mine, have documented that some interpreters and translators in the UK are struggling to make ends meet. Ignoring these facts, the published speech reads more like a misleading recruitment campaign for translation and interpreting companies—some of which are actively exploiting linguists. We need an honest and open conversation about the role of public institutions and professional organisations in challenging these exploitive dynamics.

While I do not doubt your goodwill, I found the reference to the multi-billion-pound value of the language industry troubling. It presents a misleading picture when, in reality, some public service interpreters are paid as little as 15 to 17 pence per minute. Given that some assignments last only 15 minutes, interpreters often earn no more than £3 to £4 per session—without any guarantee of further work that day or even that week. The stark contrast between an industry measured in billions and workers paid in pence highlights the urgent need for reform. This reality should be central to any serious conversation about the future of the sector.

While the speech rightly highlights the global demand for language skills and the contributions of linguists across sectors, it fails to reflect the harsh economic realities and deteriorating working conditions faced by many UK-based interpreters and translators today.

These are not isolated issues. For instance, the 2025 House of Lords inquiry into court interpreting reported that many qualified professionals are struggling to survive financially, despite performing complex, highly skilled work that is essential to the administration of justice.

Frankly, it is not enough to sing the praises of linguists while continuing to overlook the economic injustices they endure. Public recognition must be matched by concrete action: to support their labour rights, ensure fair pay, and reform the outsourcing systems that have degraded job quality, or even better abolish outsourcing completely. If translators and interpreters are truly essential to such a vital and lucrative sector—as your speech implies—why are they so consistently undervalued?

I urge you, in your influential role, to centre the lived realities of interpreters and translators in your public advocacy—and to support the call for a just, transparent, and sustainable language services sector. After all, you are the Honorary President of an institute funded by interpreters’ and translators’ membership fees. It is time we recognised these professionals not merely as instruments of policy or economic growth, but as equal members of our society and skilled individuals with human rights, who deserve dignity, respect, and economic security.

I firmly believe that ensuring fair pay, stable contracts, and meaningful career progression for translators and interpreters is not only a matter of justice; it is a strategic imperative for securing the future of the profession. I have recently raised this very issue—What is the real cost of outsourcing?—in correspondence with the head of the House of Lords Public Services Committee.

Yours sincerely,

Fardous Bahbouh