Sophie Dubois has been a translator and swore interpreter for almost 20 years now. It translates Dutch, English and Spanish towards French. “”J‘Love what I do because I feel useful “, she says. “I allow those who do not master the French language to be able to express themselves, I play an important role in the criminal chain”.
Sophie Dubois’ activity is twofold. She is an interpreter during police interrogations or hearings in the courts of Mons or Tournai. It also translates various court documents which arrive in continuous flow in its mailbox. “”CThey take care of the week and even on weekends and it happens that I work at night“.
When the request comes from the prosecution, the translator has 30 calendar days but certain requests are more urgent. “”If it is a requisition of an investigating judge, it is necessary to act in an emergency. There, we stop everything we were doing and it is at the finish. “
I still have invoices that date from April 2 which have not yet been liquidated.
But despite her commitment and flexibility, Sophie Dubois struggles to be paid for her work. Almost half of his invoices submitted between April and late June has not yet been paid. “”Out of 31 invoices that I have listed, I have 16 which are still in the state of unpaid.”
The amounts that we owe him over time are also increasingly important. For Sophie Dubois, having to wait to be paid, it’s not new. “”This is a problem that we have always known as a translator/interpreter/juror. “But what differs today is the waiting period that continues to lie down.”I still have invoices that date from April 2 which have not yet been liquidated. And most of my invoices in May have not even been open yet.“For the translator, this represents a delay of almost 60 days for an amount of around 6000 euros.
The expert considers the current situation as something “fairly revolting“. The profession requires being particularly available and, for it,”Not being recognized, in any case financially, and not being paid in time is really problematic.“
Fortunately for Sophie Dubois, she also pretends a few hours as a teacher who brought her a fixed income and her husband is paid in time. “For the moment, even if it is energetic to have to claim his due, my financial situation is stable thanks to my husband but I think of sisters who are single mothers, with dependent children, who have already had to ask for the help of the CPAS when she works for the“.
