Agency rates are poltics by other means!

[Guest guest]

Good New Year, fellow medical translators!

I am not one of the major participants in this discussion group, as I work

with Scandinavian languages, which are rarely discussed here. Nonetheless,

I follow the e-mail with interest.

A large American agency uses me mainly to evaluate test translations and as

a proofreader. Their rates are decreasing, and have gone down a couple of

cents since I first worked with them a few years ago. Their strategy is to

have inexperienced translators bash out the bulk of the text, and let me fix

it up. (They used to ask me to translate, but when I would not lower my

rates, they quit sending me much translation). Naturally, this is an

exploitive situation, as I end up doing a lot more work salvaging crummy

translations than I am getting paid for. But it is worse than that, because

what this does is to train clients to use these poorly paying agencies, and

takes business away from the better-paying agencies that pay experienced

translators a more respectable rate given their skills and experience.

I told the agency that I could no longer work under these conditions. Their

response was to offer me more money, which I have to turn down for the

following reasons, which is also why I am submitting this tale for your

contemplation.

The relationship between an agency in a freelancer is very much a

take-it-or-leave-it proposition to the agency's benefit. Given the general

lowering of rates worldwide, if we do not take a stand together, we will

have joined their race to the bottom.

The core of my rejection of their offer for more pay for me personally was

that it did not address the company policy of pushing rates downward and

pulling work away from the better-paying agencies. In short, I told them

that for the sake of my colleagues (i.e., you guys!) I was going to stand on

principle and end my association with this agency. This was brought on

because they were getting very giddy about their marketing efforts in

Scandinavia to attract more translation to the agency. Without having

consulted me, they were taking it for granted that I would be doing all of

this proofreading of what I could almost call " scab " or " black-leg "

translators.

So what I am asking all of you is to consider thinking of ourselves in terms

of colleagues and what is good for all of us. I encourage everyone to say no

to low-rate agencies, precisely because it rewards clients to abandon

well-paying agencies, and to participate in that process is to cut our own

collective throat.

If anyone knows of a trade union for freelancers, please chime in!

Individually, we are easy prey, collectively maybe we can look out for each

other. All feedback is personally welcome.

- aka " Roland "