Social procurement to reduce precarious employment for Māori and Pasifika workers in the construction industry

Abstract

This research is exploratory, designed to investigate emerging themes in order to examine perceptions of precarious employment and social procurement in the construction industry for Māori and Pasifika workers. The different socio-economic effects of precarious employment alongside the effects of social procurement to determine consequences on precarious employment for Māori and Pasifika workers in the construction industry are evaluated. A qualitative approach was utilised with a questionnaire distributed to relevant stakeholders, including social service providers, the local government, industry training organisations, and a labour-hire organisation. Precarious employment for Māori and Pasifika workers in the construction industry was perceived by participants as low paid, low skilled, with no training and development prospects or pathways. The findings identified social procurement outcomes as having the potential to reduce precarious employment in the construction industry for Māori and Pasifika workers by influencing change in employers and the construction industry as a whole. Further, it has been found that social procurement clauses can reduce precarity by improving the skills and capability of workers. Responses indicated that an incentivisation of employers, specifically in terms of traning and development, could result in increasing pay rates of these workers.