to the current RSE scheme begins to trace the historical to contemporary reliance of Australia and New Zealand on cheap Pacific labour to subsidise their economies.234 Tuiburelevu and Wagner-Hiliau begin the work of connecting how the historical undervaluing and abuse of Pacific peoples’ labour connects to the contemporary undervaluing of Pacific peoples’ labour of which the Pacific Pay Gap is symptomatic. 5.2 Pacific peoples’ experiences in the workplace: construction 5.2.1 Precarity and Pacific peoples in construction The literature suggests that precarity or work insecurity is the defining feature of Pacific workers’ experiences in the construction industry.235 Pacific construction workers are overrepresented in lowskilled and low-paying roles and are often engaged in temporary, casual, fixed-term or zero-hour contracts. Such work is also characterised by irregular working hours and little opportunity for upskilling or career progression.236 In Hurt-Suwan and Mahler’s study of Māori and Pacific construction workers’ construction industry experiences, workers described their employment as tedious, monotonous and boring. Notably, one participant described these precarious or insecure positions as “employment that is not conducive to jobs with dignity”.237 While there is an established body of research on Pacific workers’ broader economic characteristics that align with these construction industry experiences, there is currently little on social qualities such as job satisfaction, feeling fulfilled or dignity. Pacific construction workers primarily identify an interconnection between structural racism and neoliberalism as central for their experiences of precarity in the construction industry.238 The participants in Hurt-Suwan and Mahler’s study observed that the construction industry is project or target-oriented. Maintaining a precarious workforce enables contractors and employers “flexibility to increase and decrease (their) workforce without additional compliancy” and “releases the employer of long-term commitment and employment obligation”.239 Pacific workers are also highly aware that structural racism contributes to their experiences in the construction industry, specifically in being “forced” into precarious construction work as their only option. Pacific construction workers also report on the lack of willingness of employers to invest time, money and training into their Pacific workers specifically.240 There is extensive acrossindustry and construction-specific literature that focuses on cultural barriers to positive workplace experiences and outcomes for Pacific workers. While Pacific workers do indeed raise this as a problem, the literature falls short in examining other experiences they report like encountering structural racism and the neoliberal structure of the construction industry. 5.2.2 Health and safety and Pacific peoples in construction Owing to the concentration of Pacific workers in precarious work in the construction industry, there are also issues for Pacific workers regarding workplace health and safety.241 Pacific workers are overrepresented in injury and fatality rates in the construction industry yet have a lower likelihood of reporting incidents or injury in the workplace.242 This pattern can, in part, be attributed to an incompatibility between Pacific and mainstream New Zealand understandings of health and safety. The social hierarchies of many Pacific cultures render it disrespectful to raise objections or offer opinions to managers, making it difficult for Pacific workers to raise health and safety concerns with their managers.243 234 Tuiburelevu and Wagner-Hiliau, “Pick Your Own Damn Fruit.” 235 Feilo, “Talanoa,” xi, 6; Hurt-Suwan and Mahler, “Social Procurement,” 106-107. 236 Hurt-Suwan and Mahler, “Social Procurement,” 103, 105, 111-112. 237 Hurt-Suwan and Mahler, “Social Procurement,” 105. 238 Hurt-Suwan and Mahler, “Social Procurement,” 106-107. 239 Hurt-Suwan and Mahler, “Social Procurement,” 106. 240 Hurt-Suwan and Mahler, “Social Procurement,” 106. 241 Feilo, “Talanoa,” xi, 3, 6; Hurt-Suwan and Mahler, “Social Procurement,” 103, 106. 242 Feilo, “Talanoa,” 6; Chen, National Culture, 41; Powell, ACC’s Delivery to Priority Populations: Part 2 - Pāsifika Peoples, 1-3. 243 Feilo, “Talanoa ” 51-52, 60; Chen, National Culture, 42-44. Pacific Pay Gap Inquiry Literature Review 33