A bit like certain Japanese expressions in French, the notion of “
payment of salaries
” seems difficult to translate into administrative language.
Yesterday Monday, around 300 legal interpreters in Ile-de-France, trained collectively, went on strike, denouncing wages not paid for several months by the Ministry of Justice.
Among the strikers, 160 complaints were reportedly made, indicating great difficulties for some families.
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In a letter addressed to the Minister of Justice Éric Dupond-Moretti, the collective of judicial interpreters and translators "
COSP
", that is to say occasional collaborators of the public services, informed last Friday November 19 that they had decided on a day of strike action. , affecting "
all the places where we usually operate in Île-de-France (courts, police station, gendarmeries)
".
The status of these interpreters is special, without a civil servant job, but their presence is required throughout the procedure when a litigant does not master the French language.
The collective denounces the suspension of their payment for several months, some not having received a transfer since June.
Remaining present for up to 16 hours a day in certain procedures, the amounts still due are often high: several thousand euros, and up to 25,000 in some cases.
Explosion of cases requiring a translator
“
We have more and more work. The ministry's expenditure optimization office models each year the expenditure to be planned in order to budget them ... And each time, misses its point. As of the summer, the planned amounts are spent, and we have to wait for the next budget. It is absolutely not normal
”, testifies a translator wishing to remain anonymous. Especially since the activity has sharply increased: the number of active interpreters in France is estimated to be around 8,500 this year, far from the 3,000 to 3,500 people employed ten years ago according to this source, and not counting overtime. , also on the rise. In question: the explosion of files implicating unaccompanied minors, banditry or foreign mafia communities.
The number of active interpreters in France has increased sharply over the past ten years.
In question: the explosion of files implicating unaccompanied minors, banditry or foreign mafia communities.
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"
The ministry has not been able to manage its forecasts in terms of budget allocated to interpreters and translators and the SAR
[regional administrative service]
depending on the courts of appeal, respond to each complaint, that the cash no longer allows to pay the interpreters.
», Continues the letter to the Minister of Justice. “
We have drawn your attention to our situation today which is bordering on disaster and for some of us personal bankruptcy. This situation, which we have denounced every year at the same time, has created major family and personal problems
, ”the signatories again underlined, led by their spokesperson Stéphane Hassibi. While most resumed their activity on Tuesday, a new strike is scheduled for next Monday, November 29.
Contacted, the Ministry of Justice has not yet answered our questions, but on Friday assured
Liberation that it
had "
taken the necessary measures
", the payments being "
in progress for the entire area
" of the Ile-de-France region. "
There is no longer any under-budgeting in legal costs
", notes the Chancellery, which asks "
the courts of appeal to make payments on time
". This Tuesday according to the collective, only the spokesperson would have seen his rights settled, currently attending the trial of the Paris attacks. In the provinces, the situation would be similar, according to other witnesses.
With Le
Figaro
, they recall that the State made them work illegally for several years, before finally registering them in a social security system, but that their legal situation still remains uncertain.
One of them mentions a state “
racket
” on the salaries of translators: “
Some interpreters who exceed quotas are being asked for VAT over three years although they have never received it
”.
Consultations are said to be underway for the creation of a union next year.