Ezispeak saga: govt phone interpreters tangled in company collapse

The plight of interpreters highlights the traps lying in wait in the “gig economy”. (Image: Getty)

Mon, 11 Jul 2022

More than 200 government phone interpreters are out of pocket after the Australian firm they contracted to went into liquidation last year. The director of the firm Ezispeak was found to have deliberately sold her business for less than it was worth to avoid paying the bills. Ezispeak holds a single Ministry for Business Innovation and Employment (MBIE) contract to supply interpreters, who take calls from 56 government agencies at all hours of the day, including from police and MIQ. “Personally, I have to warn all of my colleagu...

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