Management never got back to me to tell me the result. I felt disrespected because this happened after I had been physically attacked and was under ACC for a fractured knee and slipped disc from the assault and was still trying to do work from home to help my team. I told my manager it felt like work was assaulting me in another way. HR was involved. It was not a good experience and it showed me that they do not value me. (S105) Pacific workers who had these experiences felt that raising concerns was a “horrible, traumatising experience” (S098) in which they were “dissatisfied by the outcome” (S444). One healthcare worker summarised that the person with whom they raised their concern pretended to care but “was a really difficult person to talk to and super busy and unavailable” (S175). A manufacturing worker agreed, saying their employer was “dismissive, and the conversation never eventuated to anything” (S028). The impact of these experiences add up, leaving some Pacific workers feeling as though, even if they did raise concerns, it would not be worth it. As one worker put it: I did have a concern, but did not raise it with anyone. Gets denied during conversation or just point blank unacknowledged. (S100) Unaddressed concerns impact Pacific workers’ wellbeing While many Pacific workers who have concerns are raising them, they face barriers in having their concerns resolved. One of the impacts of these barriers is that they discourage other workers from raising their concerns. Pacific workers from across the sectors shared various reasons for not raising their concerns. These related to fears for their visa or employment status, not knowing how to make a complaint, fear of repercussions, feeling like their complaint would be ignored or out of respect for their leaders. Pacific workers from the health and agriculture sectors shared concerns regarding their work visa. One healthcare worker told us “I am an immigrant visa bound and I don’t want put myself in such position, I might lose the chance to renew my visa” (S170). Several workers told us that they did not raise their concerns because they were “ilifia” (scared) to speak up. One Pacific healthcare worker said: 58 I did have a concern but did not raise it with anyone. Fearful of the repercussion from management. (S110) Supporting the experiences of those who raise concerns and are ignored, some Pacific workers feel that there is simply no point in raising their concerns “because my managers wouldn’t do anything even when I did raise concerns” (S453). Another person said “I did have a concern but did not raise it with anyone – I felt my voice will be not heard” (S078). Some Pacific workers did not know how to raise a concern, as in this instance of a health worker: I did have a concern but did not raise it with anyone. I was still new to my role and job and so I didn’t know the right people to speak with. (S102) Some may have had cultural and social reasons for not making a complaint, like the healthcare worker who told us: I did have a concern but did not raise it with anyone. Respect for authority and not wanting to cause trouble. (S081) The following experience captures the sense of hopelessness that Pacific workers feel from not having their concerns listened to by those in authority: They knew that the complaint I had placed has been placed before. They asked me for more information and for others to put forward their complaints. But if they already knew about it, what was the point of me having to ask 30+ people to write complaints? And then it clicked … They’ve never done anything about [it] if those people have worked there for years and have just given up about complaining and put up with it. (S019) Having workers feel discouraged or that there is no point in raising a complaint can also be unsafe, particularly in our focus industries of construction, manufacturing and healthcare. Research has shown that the cultural disconnect where silence is seen as a more respectful form of engagement by Pacific peoples in some situations can result in unsafe workplaces where Pacific workers fail to report health and safety concerns out of fear of job loss.58 Matada Research Group and Human Rights Commission, Pacific Pay Gap Inquiry Literature Review, 24. Voices of Pacific peoples 81