An online petition against changes to Access to Work (ATW) has received support from over 3,500 people in just one week.
The petition was launched after the DWP (Department for Work and Pensions) began to implement a change in the flexibility that deaf people have when choosing their interpreters – change that is set to have a dramatic impact on both working deaf people and interpreters alike.
The change would force organisations employing deaf people to also employ interpreters or other communication support professionals as members of staff, rather than as freelancers or agency workers. This will limit the ability of a deaf employee to select the best interpreter for a particular assignment. It is also likely to make employing new deaf people more burdensome for managers and negatively impact on the professional development of interpreters.
Despite the popularity of the petition, some deaf people have expressed concerns, claiming its not clear from the petition’s webpage who was behind it. Using the email facility on the site, I contacted Emily Smith, one of the joint sponsors of the petition and she told me more about their motivation for organising the campaign.
“This campaign is being led by a Deaf professional with many years experience in politics; and an experienced interpreter, both of whom feel passionately about this issue. We are not using our names because we want this campaign to be about the issue, and not become about an organisation or individual.” She said.
“The reason we set up this campaign was because we felt Deaf people weren’t being represented. Deaf organisations that were traditionally voice organisations lack the capacity to campaign. It is important that the Deaf community and interpreting profession work together. Deaf people must have access to qualified interpreters, who are impartial and have received proper training.”
“This is a really important cause. If you’re not familiar with the details, Access to Work incurs no cost to the taxpayer. The income received in tax and National Insurance from both the disabled person and their support worker exceeds the amount being spent. Despite this, Deaf people are having their ATW budgets reduced. There is no justification for these changes that are being implemented.”
“Deaf people need the flexibility to meet the demands of their work: They are the experts in their own access needs! We’ve had a great response but we still need more signatures! The more people that support this campaign, the more impact it will have.”
Deaf people on social media also questioned why the campaign focused on BSL users, while others questioned why it was aimed at Sir Malcolm Bruce, an MP not in government, as well as Work and Pensions Minister Iain Duncan-Smith.
“The aim is to support Deaf BSL users whose first language isn’t English. The whole complaints procedure is reliant on written English and is therefore not accessible to this group. We would hope that other users of ATW will support us, as any campaign like this will be of benefit to everyone – it will show that the current ATW system is unfair and needs to be reviewed.” Emily said.
“Sir Malcolm Bruce is Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on deafness. He needs to know that the group he supports aren’t being properly represented and get involved. He has the ability to raise this issue with the appropriate MPs, using his position to influence.”
You can sign the petition here:
By Andy Palmer, Deputy Editor
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Rob
November 20, 2013
Two main messages seems to come out of this article.
The Deaf are “voiceless” and fragmented”- which I agree with and would want to see a stronger more cohesive approach. by the Deaf themselves rather than just BSL users. Interpreters should be part of that picture but not totally. ATW let other deaf people down on other important issues not relating to interpreting services.
The Second is this: This whole campaign is only addressing a small part of the problem with any changes imposed by Government. It is short sighted to have a “Deaf professional” take the lead and not include the rest of us. ATW is but another issue and any petition should be wider and offer solutions to provide a wider level playing for ALL the Deaf.
I am not surprised that the Deaf are “unhappy “…..
Steve
November 20, 2013
Is this article something that could be submitted or expanded for publication in The Guardian or Independent? It’d potentially boost the number of signatures and raise awareness further.
Andy not Mr Palmer but another one
November 20, 2013
“The aim is to support Deaf BSL users whose first language isn’t English. The whole complaints procedure is reliant on written English and is therefore not accessible to this group.”
There’s a whopping great assumption here that people whose first language is BSL will not understand English.
We are not total morons you know!
Jimmy Craw
November 20, 2013
Many deaf people requiring an interpreter for any number of occasions are more liable to use a freelance one not only because they are a lot less expensive than the so called professionals who have taken grading courses which I feel gain them a misguided kudos that merely installs them into some sort of superior image over freelancer’s who are just as adept have equal S/L skills or better set around fingerspelling and symbol delivery therefore the only agenda for use of any interpreter should be about the deaf persons comfort zone concerning costs, performance and reliability.
When you see TV programmes whereby professional S/L interpreters are used within a carton image they are definitely not signing clones of one another, need I elaborate further !!?
I feel there needs to be a new identity regards interpreter provision as the present system smacks of a self imposed CARTEL outlook.
Robert Eaton
November 21, 2013
Sorry but I don’t agree….Why MUST? If there were sufficient “instant” interpreters great but how long does it take to become an interpreter? 4-5 years if your lucky! How much does an interpreter charge? That’s a good one! Do we as tax payers get good value for money? For example for a 10 minute meeting an interpreter would charge a minimum of 2 hours plus travelling. Good value? What about continuity? Drop in drop out different people not the most effective method for personal development. Who benefits most..controversial…. In my experience independence and neutrality of individuals has been questionable, actually down right bias! “Only an interpreter is sufficiently qualified blah,blah”. This for me is a personal experience, told to my mother who is profoundly deaf by an interpreter. I need a qualification to help my mum? Rob aged 49!
NO I fully agree with DWP and ATW that change is required. I believe from a level 2 qualification a start point is achieved for earning/employment working with the deaf. How else does an individual gain experience in that field of employment whilst being able to live! If its good enough for every other profession what makes sign language so special? A trainee mechanic fails to put the brakes back in a car correctly the result could be catastrophic, but its done by level 2 trainees regularly. I agree the more complex the role, the more experienced/qualified support is made available, continually accessed and approved by the individual needing the support. A must are checks and controls, to mentor and to develop the signer to the highest standards. Checks and controls should be provided by the deaf themselves. Are interpreters quality controlled if so by who and how? Easily done on a form… did you understand…. were you happy with the service… comments….signature.
Not rocket science!
My name is Robert Eaton, I started Sign it! June 2003 a communication support service, with my team we have been successfully providing communication support in every field you can imagine. This is my personal view based on personal experience of supporting and employing profoundly deaf and disabled individuals since 2004.
Colette Phippard
November 22, 2013
Robert, how about putting the needs of deaf AND hearing people ahead of your own need to earn to ensure that they get a good service, rather than an ok one? You said your Mum is deaf – wouldn’t you rather she had the best access rather than ok access? How can a deaf person excel in the workplace and be open to promotional opportunities if their communication support isn’t at the level they need? Actually it is up to individual deaf people to assess what is right for them and in some cases they may choose to have someone lower qualified than an interpreter, but that is their choice and should not be forced upon them. You might have had some bad experiences with some interpreters but please don’t tar us all with the same brush.
Also, at level 2 I am really not sure how anyone can realistically be expected to do a satisfactory interpreting job. Level 2 is a language qualification and should not be confused with interpreting qualifications. I have a GCSE in French but that doesn’t enable me to work as a French/English interpreter and BSL is no different. There are further, more advanced, levels of BSL to be undertaken before interpreter training so that means that at level 2 a BSL learner is not yet proficient in that language. Yes, there might be varying levels of skill amongst individuals but your qualifications say that at level 2 you have a basic command of BSL. That might not be the reality but what else is there to go on if your most recent qualification tells me what level of skill you have been assessed as having?
If you are going to use examples of other jobs like mechanics I would have to say that there is no relevance to that here, for starters your mechanic will be in an apprenticeship and supervised – this is not the case for interpreters or people using their BSL qualifications for communication support work. There is a big problem with getting that experience, I agree, there is a problem with the system but that doesn’t make it ok to use deaf people as guinea-pigs.
Interpreting is a very different sort of job, interpreters have to prove that in addition to language proficiency and interpreter training that they are also trustworthy and I am not sure how someone who cannot register and is therefore not subject to a strict code of conduct can demonstrate that they are trustworthy beyond just saying that that they are. But if you want to draw analogies shall we say that we don’t mind being operated on by junior doctors or that we would be willing to have our teeth drilled by dentists that are only so far along in their training? Would we feel very comfortable and hopeful of a good outcome in those circumstances? It took me 10 years to train and to get my RSLI status, interpreting is about so much more than being able to sign and it takes a very long time to train for very good reasons. In most types of work people are rewarded for their progression in skill and experience but it seems now to be the norm to criticise and slash fees for interpreters. Also, be very careful what you wish for because if you do hope to be a registered interpreter one day your opinions might result in a low wage for interpreters – so will it be worth putting the work in if actually your earning potential will not be greater? Where will this leave deaf people if we say anyone with a BSL qualification can interpret for them? Interpreters are there to give access and not hinder it.
Your argument about helping your Mum is your business and specific to your circumstances but try to bear in mind that that is not everyone’s experience and that may not be what all deaf people want.
It’s worrying that you don’t know who governs interpreters if you are already out there working. Actually, if you had had interpreter training then I think you would have written a very different kind of posting. The NRCPD registers interpreters and in order to be on the national register an individual has to meet a minimum level of competence and that is set, and assessed, by the NRCPD as RSLI – so you have to be qualified to register and work as an interpreter. Given that qualified is the minimum level of competence it is then very worrying that people with level 2 are out there working for agencies like Sign It! In fact, that is probably what many people at level 2 are doing – signing it rather than interpreting it. I wonder how you know that that your team have been doing this successfully for so long? Is it perhaps that the low level of access actually prevents users from expressing what they really think about the service? How can you measure that? Interpreter training teaches students to analyse their performance and it gives them techniques for improving their performance. What are you doing to measure that success that you mentioned?