Your first professional experience: Working conditions on online translation and transcription platforms

Digital labour platforms offer earnings opportunities for many workers globally. They cover a wide range of different jobs, from food delivery to ride-hailing to domestic work and many other kinds of jobs that can be done by workers from almost everywhere. Online translation and transcription platforms play a significant role in this broad field.

Hence, many people starting as translators might be tempted to use online translation platforms to begin their careers and generate (additional) income.

In this session, we will discuss the findings of the Fairwork Project, which analysed and ranked working conditions on some of the most prominent digital translation & transcription platforms.

Drawing on a set of principles for fair work, the project evaluated how platforms compare in terms of pay, working conditions, contracts, management process and collective representation.

The results show remarkable differences between platforms and provide insights that might prove valuable when deciding what platform to work on.