Tag: economics
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What Would Fair Pay for Translators and Interpreters Actually Look Like?
Translation and Interpreting Studies have documented declining rates and deteriorating working conditions, while commercial intermediaries have raised concerns about the difficulty of attracting and retaining skilled translators and interpreters. Yet a fundamental question remains largely absent from these discussions: What would actually make a rate of pay fair? Discussions of fair pay often move quickly…
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This upcoming election, make ending exploitation within outsourced public services a top priority
As the UK prepares for the upcoming elections, an issue that deserves far greater public attention is the risk of exploitation within outsourced public service supply chains. Voters in Scotland and Wales will elect representatives to their national parliaments, while a number of local council and mayoral polls will take place in England. Across these…
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Financial insecurity in UK public service interpreting: Excerpts from my PhD study
In the United Kingdom (UK), public service interpreting (PSI) is a state function mandated by legal frameworks and funded by taxpayers. However, its delivery is predominantly outsourced to private language service providers (LSPs), where interpreters’ labour is subject to market competition and cost-cutting logics. This study examines the inequalities experienced by interpreters in PSI through…
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Urging the Government to publish its action plan to prevent exploitation within public supply chains: An open letter to the Secretary of State for Education and Minister for Women and Equalities, Bridget Phillipson MP
Dear Secretary of State, I am writing in response to the government’s recent announcement of employer action plans on the gender pay gap and menopause support, published ahead of International Women’s Day 2026. I welcome the recognition that women’s experiences at work continue to be shaped by structural inequalities, and I strongly support the aim…
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How much does the translation industry cost our society by underpaying its largely precarious workforce?
The translation and interpreting industry is frequently celebrated as a multi-billion-pound economic success story. Yet behind these impressive figures lies a far less comfortable truth. Drawing on research into working conditions across the sector, it becomes clear that many translators and interpreters — the very professionals whose labour produces the service — struggle to earn…
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Reevaluating Public Service Interpreting and Translation: An Ethical, Economic, and Policy Analysis.
By Fardous Bahbouh, Researcher & Consultant on Labour Rights, Public Policy, and the Political Economy of the Translation Industry This slightly modifies analysis was submitted to the House of Lords Inquiry into court interpreting and translation and published on their website. I welcome the House of Lords Public Services Committee’s decision to conduct this much-needed…
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