At a Pacific workers’ talanoa that concerned social work and the wider social sector, similar issues were identified: Pasifika workers bring unique cultural skills to workplaces. This is especially true in social services where the cultural skill of language allows for effective communication with Pacific families … Without effective communication, appropriate strategies for support cannot be developed or implemented. Pasifika bring these skills and are called upon for translation purposes within a variety of industries – a role which monolingual speaking staff are unable to fulfil. However, the pay gap strongly indicates that these crucial skills are not acknowledged or valued, even though they are the key to effective engagement and developing close working relationships with Pacific families. (T011) Another Pacific worker in this talanoa summarised the unfairness and racism behind the expectation that Pacific workers would provide cultural skills and expertise without being remunerated for it, tapping into a sense of community responsibility that many would be reluctant not to fulfil: Additionally, within the formal workplace setting, Pacific workers report that it is common that they are asked to act as a cultural advisor and liaison, above and beyond their job description and without any renumeration. Essentially, Pasifika experience racism through an expectation by employers that they will undertake unpaid work outside of their job role within their workplace and provide default expertise on behalf of Pacific people, which many experienced as an “intense responsibility”. This has financial implications for them and impacts their ability to fulfil their obligations outside of paid employment. (T011) Pacific social skills and values In addition to their specific cultural and linguistic skills and experience, Pacific workers bring other social skills and values that are not often appreciated as assets in the workplace. These traits, which many participants said were key parts of their upbringing, include loyalty, hard work, humility and learning quickly. Some of these values, particularly humility, can be at odds with values in the workplace such as assertiveness and questioning those in authority. They also tend not to be valued as highly as academic and professional qualifications. As one construction worker summarised, “I think our people get overlooked because of lack of qualifications, but the potential to learn quickly and be loyal is never taken into consideration” (S209). Loyalty was a theme that several participants identified. One person who worked in health noted that this sense of loyalty related to not raising issues and missing out on promotion and increased pay: A PI workforce work hard and go out of their way to meet the demands of the service and seldom complain. PI need to be recognised and get paid to what their counterparts receive. (S063) Voices of Pacific peoples 63