| Pages in topic: < [1 2] | Help! What is my responsibility? Thread poster: Sandesh Ghimire
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Sheila Wilson 
Spain
Local time: 21:46
Member (2007)
English
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| So, they are employees | Sep 25, 2015 |
Sandesh Ghimire wrote:
He is heard to ask his employees to report to his office at 9 AM and have them work through the day till 5 PM, except for a break of 1 hour for lunch. The translators don't have access to the internet. If they must have an access for a certain job, their activities are censured. He has them do the sample translations (if necessary) and grabs whatever falls into his hands. 'He's never rejected a job offer'" the fellow translator says. He ranks very high in translations networks unfortunately. (Don't know if I had to reveal it).
I have absolutely no experience of working conditions in Nepal, but that doesn't sound too bad to me. Sweatshop conditions would normally imply minimum wage (whereas here it's a good three times that); long hours (certainly not 7 hours a day); and very high volumes (whereas you mentioned 2,000 words a day in your first post). No access to the Internet means quality will suffer, but that isn't really the issue being discussed. Believe me, almost all Internet use by employees is censored in Europe, and there have been many prosecutions for misuse of company connections.
I would have thought you could safely let the employees decide for themselves what they want to do about their situation.
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Those conditions don't sound too bad. And if he's that nice then he probably has them work on weekdays only, so they might end up doing only 40,000-50,000 words a month, not 60,000.
Of course, if they struck out on their own they could make much more than $250 (e.g. ultra-sweatshop wage of $0.02 x 40,000 = $800), but do they really want to leave or do they just want to complain about how cheap their undoubtedly cheap boss is? I say it again, give them the info and let them sort them... See more Those conditions don't sound too bad. And if he's that nice then he probably has them work on weekdays only, so they might end up doing only 40,000-50,000 words a month, not 60,000.
Of course, if they struck out on their own they could make much more than $250 (e.g. ultra-sweatshop wage of $0.02 x 40,000 = $800), but do they really want to leave or do they just want to complain about how cheap their undoubtedly cheap boss is? I say it again, give them the info and let them sort themselves out.
A word of warning though: their boss will almost certainly fire any translator he catches prospecting for work online. I suggest they start out using pseudonyms or working on online portals where names don't matter until they're ready to quit. ▲ Collapse
| | | | jyuan_us
United States
Local time: 16:46
Member (2005)
English to Chinese
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| I think if he has done something illegal | Sep 25, 2015 |
you can turn him in to a local authority. I don't see any ethical issue in this case because what he has been doing is a normal business operation.
Or you may also adopt his operational method and develop a business like what he is doing.
| | | | | Law, morality and ethics. | Sep 27, 2015 |
Well, this is a grand title, but I'm going to keep this very simple. As others have said, we have very little information here. Some basic legal aspects will need to be determined and although that is a lawyer's job,it will probably involve:
- clarifying what status the translators are working under
- who they are working for
In short, whether they are being paid to work for one person/company, or whether they are working for that person/company and submitting invoices for the... See more Well, this is a grand title, but I'm going to keep this very simple. As others have said, we have very little information here. Some basic legal aspects will need to be determined and although that is a lawyer's job,it will probably involve:
- clarifying what status the translators are working under
- who they are working for
In short, whether they are being paid to work for one person/company, or whether they are working for that person/company and submitting invoices for the work done.
On the face of it, as you say they are paid a fixed amount each month, then they would appear to be employees. If they are employees, then it is then necessary to look to the laws of the country where they are working to see whether the legilation is being complied with. If it turns out that they are self-employed (= freelancers), then depending on the laws of the country, there may be rules and regulations which have to be respected for freelancers too. I don't know. There is a third possibility. If the translators in question are actually working as freelancers, submitting an invoice and yet working regular hours for a regular amount, they might in fact be considered as employees. That may or may not be legal in the country concerned. We don't know. Then, and only then, will it be possible to consider the amount the translators earn. If they are salaried workers, minimum wage rules may apply. There may not be any minimum wage rules in the country though. Next, if they are freelancers, if the basic legal rules work as in many other countries, then if a translator working for himself accepts slave-labour rates, then there is probably nothing anyone can do about it.
(As for the fact that some translators think that "in-house" = freelance, self-employed rather than working for a company, an agency, if these translators don't work to/from English, then they can be forgiven for the misunderstanding. However, if this misunderstanding has been made by translators working to/from English, then it it is sad and/or amusing, but probably more than anything else worrying).
Is it moral to charge a pittance? Not at all! Is it ethical? Well, the term ethics describes a body of rules and I have no idea whether any such texts exist in the country in question. Is it moral? From the little we know, from the way it has been presented, it would seem not. It is good of you to be concerned about your friends. The best thing you can do would be to find out whether the set up they have is legal or not and take it from there. What can ProZ do about it? Nothing at all. It is not their job to do so.
[Edited at 2015-09-27 14:55 GMT] ▲ Collapse
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| Translators on a payroll | Sep 29, 2015 |
I have seen employment offers at around $75k p.a. plus benefits and allowances for contracts of limited duration in international organisations. Anybody fitting the requirements can apply to these positions when they are vacancies.
A wage is usually mutually agreed and can hardly be compared to a self-employed income. In Europe, multiplying a wage by 2 gives an idea of a freelance income to get a similar buying power.
Some people feel more comfortable earning less but h... See more I have seen employment offers at around $75k p.a. plus benefits and allowances for contracts of limited duration in international organisations. Anybody fitting the requirements can apply to these positions when they are vacancies.
A wage is usually mutually agreed and can hardly be compared to a self-employed income. In Europe, multiplying a wage by 2 gives an idea of a freelance income to get a similar buying power.
Some people feel more comfortable earning less but having the guarantee to take a known amount home each month. If it were so easy to become a freelance translator and exceed their current buying power from month 1, your friends would certainly have done the math.
Philippe ▲ Collapse
| | | | | I don't see any "victims" | Sep 29, 2015 |
The translators (or any employee) who accept working under those conditions are no victims at all.
If they are suffering so much they should get ANY other job, not necessarily related to translation.
However, I believe the salary for a professional should be much higher than that of a regular employee, because of their skills and the value of their work. But again, they have agreed to those conditions and complaining without doing anything to change that will not make me feel ... See more The translators (or any employee) who accept working under those conditions are no victims at all.
If they are suffering so much they should get ANY other job, not necessarily related to translation.
However, I believe the salary for a professional should be much higher than that of a regular employee, because of their skills and the value of their work. But again, they have agreed to those conditions and complaining without doing anything to change that will not make me feel bad for them. They can always choose to find any other job.
Many of us have worked very hard to be translators, have invest in CAT tools, training and specialization, and was it JUST to make ends meet? I don't think so. We are supposed to make a GOOD living out of our skills... or do something else.
We are translators because we love translating, but it doesn't mean that we will translate for peanuts just 'because we love it'. Actually, BECAUSE we love translation we should teach the clients and the world to value our knowledge, but we cannot do it if we don't value our profession ourselves.
[Edited at 2015-09-29 15:07 GMT]
[Edited at 2015-09-29 15:08 GMT] ▲ Collapse
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