International Association of Conference Translators
PROFESSIONAL CODE
Article 1
The provisions of the present Code
including the Annex, which constitutes the ethical code of the profession, are
binding on all the members of the Association.
Article 2
Translators 1 shall not engage in any form of
activity incompatible with their duties or likely to be detrimental to the
dignity of the profession.
Article 3
Translators shall observe professional
secrecy. At no time shall they communicate to anybody information which they
have obtained in the course of their duties and which has not been made public.
They are not relieved of this obligation on the expiry of their contract.
Article 4
The translator shall not knowingly accept
an appointment or work which is beyond his or her competence.
Article 5
Translators shall maintain friendly
relations with their colleagues and observe their duties of moral support and
solidarity. They shall refrain from all forms of unfair competition.
Article 6
Any dispute between members of the
Association on professional questions may be submitted to the Disciplinary
Board.
Article 7
Except in cases of force majeure,
translators shall not undertake duties other than those provided for in their
contract.
Article 8
Translators shall not consent to work in
conditions likely to be detrimental to the quality of their work. Except as may
be otherwise provided by an agreement between the AITC and the employer concerned,
a member of the Association who is offered a contract which is not in
conformity with the professional rules adopted by the General Assembly and
reproduced in the Annex shall, unless he or she decides to refuse the contract,
make the appropriate reservations. In either case the matter shall be referred
to the Executive Committee without delay and the latter shall take the
appropriate action.
Article 9
Each member of the Association shall
select a professional domicile, i.e. the only place where he or she may be
recruited as local staff.
The professional domicile may not be
changed for a period of less than a year. Any change shall be notified without
delay to the Executive Secretary.
Article 10
Except in cases of force majeure, the
translator shall not withdraw from a contract unless he or she can give
reasonable notice, supply a valid reason and propose a competent substitute.
Article 11
Members of the Association shall refrain
from any action detrimental to the Association.
Article 12
Members of the Association who fail to
observe the provisions of this Code shall be liable to the disciplinary
measures specified in the Constitution.
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ANNEX
REMUNERATION
Rule 1
Remuneration shall be on a daily or
monthly basis and shall be specified in a written contract between the parties.
It shall be paid in currency transferable to the country designated by the
translator. A full day's pay shall be due for a fraction of a day. Remuneration
shall be due for all days covered by the period of employment, including
non-working days, and shall be paid at the rate specified in the contract, net
of any commission. The rate shall not be less than that applicable under the
Non-Agreement Sector schedule of rates published by the AITC.
The principle of transferability shall
apply also to remuneration for translation work done at home.
Rule 2
In the case of non-consecutive engagements
elsewhere than at the professional domicile, contracts shall provide for
payment of either return travel or salary and subsistence allowance during the
interval between engagements.
SUBSISTENCE ALLOWANCE
Rule 3
Translators engaged elsewhere than at
their professional domicile shall receive a subsistence allowance for each day
or fraction of a day absent from their professional domicile. The rate shall be
such that accommodation (single occupancy) and meals (of an acceptable
standard) represent not more than two-thirds of the allowance.
Up to two-thirds of the subsistence
allowance may be provided in the form of accommodation and meals and up to
one-half in the form of accommodation only.
LENGTH OF WORKING WEEK
Rule 4
The length of the working week shall not
exceed 40 hours 2
spread over 5 or 6 days. If, owing to unforeseen circumstances, translators are
called upon to work longer, they shall receive compensation in the form of
either time off or remuneration for an equivalent length of time at the end of
the contract.
PREPARATION OF SUMMARY RECORDS
Rule 5
The précis-writer shall insist on being
allowed reasonable time to prepare the record.
Except in the case of minutes, the team
responsible for the record of a meeting lasting between two and three hours
shall not consist of fewer than three précis-writers 3; the taking of notes and
the subsequent drafting of the record represent at least a full day's work for
each of the précis-writers concerned.
The period of the précis-writers'
note-taking shall be reduced when the subject matter is particularly difficult
or when the speakers read prepared statements at speed. The précis-writers
shall be provided with copies of written statements.
The team or a part of it, as appropriate,
shall be replaced when a meeting lasts for more than three hours.
CANCELLATION OF CONTRACTS
Rule 6
In case of cancellation by an employer
corresponding to all or part of the period covered by a contract (including travel
and rest days), the employer shall pay the translator the following
compensation:
- 50% of the remuneration for the number of days cancelled if the
translator receives notification of cancellation more than 30 days before
the start of the engagement;
- 100% of the salary for the number of days of contract cancelled
if the translator receives such notification 30 days or less before the
start of the engagement;
- an employer may, in lieu of all or part of the compensation due,
offer the translator a contract under equivalent conditions, provided that
it falls within the dates specified in the original contract and that the
place of work is acceptable to the translator. In the case of employment
elsewhere during the period for which compensation is due, the translator
shall inform the employer of his or her net earnings during that period,
which earnings may be deducted from the compensation due;
- notice of cancellation shall be sent by registered mail or cable
to the translator's professional domicile or to the address he or she may
have specified. If cancellation is notified after the translator has left
his or her professional domicile for the purpose of travel specified in
the contract, the employer shall defray the travel and other expenses
incurred.
Rule 7
A minimum of 3 days' notice shall be given
in case of cancellation by the employer during the engagement; subsistence
allowance shall be paid during that period. If during an engagement the
translator is compelled to cancel the remainder of the contract owing to duly
certified illness or injury, he or she shall be entitled to the return travel
expenses specified in the contract.
TRAVEL
Rule 8
In the case of engagement elsewhere than
at the professional domicile, the expenses for travel between the professional
domicile or other place agreed upon and the place of employment shall be
defrayed by the employer, as follows:
Rail or boat: first class, with sleeper or cabin for night
journeys;
Air: not less than economy class, provided that 10 kg excess baggage is
allowed.
The translator shall demand a fully
endorsable ticket.
One half-day's salary and subsistence
allowance shall be paid for the first day of travel to and from the place of
employment; for any additional day of required travel, including authorized
stopovers and rest periods, full salary and subsistence allowance shall be
paid.
REST DAYS
Rule 9
The employer shall allow a period of rest
after travel according to the following schedule:
|
Travel time |
Rest period |
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More than 10 hours, not more than 16 hours |
24 hours |
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More than 16 hours |
48 hours |
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*
airport to airport, including unavoidable delays and time spent in transit. |
Rest periods shall be
included in the duration of the contract and paid at full salary with full
subsistence allowance. Rest periods may be taken during a stop en route or on
arrival, but subsistence allowance shall not be due for rest taken at the
translator's professional domicile.
11 February 1991
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1. {El
concepto de "traductor" se define en el artículo 2 de los Estatutos
de la AITC.}
2. {La duración de la semana de trabajo se reducirá a 35 horas cuando el
traductor tenga que prestar servicio hasta la medianoche (trabajo vespertino),
y a 30 cuando el trabajo se prolongue más allá de la medianoche (trabajo
nocturno).}
3. {Excepcionalmente, cuando son menos de tres los redactores disponibles,
deberá acordarse un tiempo suplementario para la redacción.}