Employers make empty promises Along with feeling undervalued, Pacific workers who are self-employed contractors shared experiences of empty promises made by the principal or partnering contractors. A Pacific worker from the arts sector shared being promised a bonus that they never received: I think the worst experience was being promised remuneration that was slightly lower than my previous job on the basis that a substantial bonus would be paid every quarter, which would have worked out higher overall. Then three months later when everyone got paid their bonus and I didn’t, I complained to the person who hired me and [who was] told to tell me that contracts signed that month I joined and going forward were ineligible for the bonus programme. I had to stay in the role at that point with little options available at the time, but two years later when I was leaving, they offered putting me on the bonus scheme to get me to stay. I didn’t. 10 years later, they still approach me asking if I will go back, but the trust is gone and the leadership is all white while it’s the POC [people of colour] getting the work done. (S723) The same worker told us about an empty promise made by their other contracting party: There was the time I was made supervisor with the promise of $25 an hour, and the assessment that I needed to sit kept getting pushed back every fortnight for a year until they finally realised I was going to hand the keys back if I didn’t get the assessment and the higher pay. (S723) In the agriculture sector, a group of male Pacific workers shared stories of operating as independent contractors and continuously experiencing empty promises by principals or partnering subcontractors. In one instance, one of the independent contractors shared his experience of tendering for a forestry contract with a fellow subcontractor from a large client: There is one more thing that I remember – like the signing of contracts. I’m talking about the forestry in the work I do. When you sign the contract in forestry, the contract puts it that you receive an equal 50 percent share. What this means is that the amount you receive from the 60 company [client] for a job, one contractor receives 50 percent and I receive 50 percent as the other contractor. However, you get tired of trying to get the contractor to be honest with you on the 50 percent share that he is giving you. They conceal the amount from you. So how do I know whether he is being honest about the amount and the 50 percent share given to me? There are men here who we work together with in forestry that already know that this is what contractors do in forestry. I tell these men that the right thing to do is for the contractor to bring to them the amount that the company is paying them. At times when I try and address this with the contractor, they always tell me that they are unable to because of the law. Is there a law that prevents the working man from knowing the amount he should be paid when working? (T005) Self-employed contractors lack protections The issues discussed by Pacific workers hired as contractors are concerning. Contractors do not have access to the government institutions available to employees in situations where workers believe that they are not getting what they are entitled to by law. Unlike contractors, employees have the option of seeking mediation or contacting the Labour Inspectorate through MBIE. Employees may take a personal grievance against their employer if it is within 90 days of the problem arising. If mediation is unsuccessful, employees may raise their employment issue with the Employment Relations Authority. In contrast, a contractor does not have access to these avenues to raise a complaint. If a contractor believes there has been a breach to their contract, they may pursue this claim through the Disputes Tribunal or the District Court, depending on the monetary value of the claim. The District Court process is more formal in nature and designed with the assumption the claimant will have legal representation, which is likely unaffordable to Pacific workers who are hired as self-employed contractors but whose wages are the equivalent or close to the minimum wage. In comparison, the Employment Relations Authority where employees can raise claims is designed so that lay people can represent themselves.