NZSTI recently issued a letter (see below) in support of Fair pay for professional interpreters in Aotearoa New Zealand, a petition initiated by NZSTI member Carolina Cannard. NZSTI has long been advocating for fair pay and conditions in the T&I sector and is very grateful to Carolina for her initiative in bringing this issue to the fore once again.
Carolina is now also collecting more detailed, anonymous data about low rates and conditions and has asked us to publish the below letter on her behalf:
Dear interpreter colleagues,
This is your chance to have your voices heard!
I am inviting NZ interpreters to send me an email to speak up about your current working conditions and your experience of turning down interpreting assignments due to low rates. This is your opportunity to express your view on your pay rates, working conditions, and the improvements that you would like to see in our profession in NZ.
Your testimonies will help support the petition for better pay and working conditions for NZ-based interpreters. The goal is to send it all to important decision makers, such as MBIE and LAS. By doing so, I hope to explain the flaws in the current interpreting system and justify the need to review current practices and implement better pay conditions for us interpreters in Aotearoa, especially now that NAATI will be in place.
You can choose to write anonymously or not. I understand if you don’t wish to share your identity publicly. I have created a form for you to complete (attached below) and write your testimony. Feel free to share relevant information such as your take-home pay rates, previous relevant petitions, articles or correspondence with LSPs (with any personal data removed if you prefer), as I know that these issues have been raised in the past by other colleagues.
Please share this email with your NZ interpreter colleagues. To have your voice heard, complete the form (attached below) and kindly send it back to me by email by 31 August 2023.
Thank you for your support – together we can push for change.
Carolina Cannard
carolina.cannard@gmail
020 4118 0096