On 15 and 16 June, the PSA Pasefika network held their Biennial National Fono. There was an oversubscription of expressions of interest which is reflective of how our Pacific members are wanting to engage with their union. The Komiti selected 80 participants based on sector, geography, gender, Pacific origins, and leadership positions such as Va Moana and Youth leaders. The Komiti were pleased to see such
an abundance of interest from PSA Pacific members as the network is about bringing our Pacific people into
the union anāu with activity specific for them.
The aims of the National Fono
- Provide a report back to our members on the activities of the Komiti for the last three years.
- Raise visibility to the PSA Pasefika strategic direction and how this aligns with the PSA strategic goals.
- Educate and promote the Va Moana delegates, Pacific Sector representatives and the Pacific representative on the Executive Board
- Create opportunities for Pasefika members across demographics and sectors to engage.
- Provide learning and development opportunities in a Pasefika way.
Since July 2020, the network had been engaging and connecting with its members by teams/zoom and by email. In 2022 the network recommenced face-to-face Fono. We have been able to build up to the national Fono through the work we were doing within regions, through our demographics such as woman, youth and men Fono, and Pacific language weeks.
It was these activities that determined our theme and the mahi we needed to expose our Pacific members to so they had better insight into what the network is, how we are positioned in the PSA, the work programme and priorities for the network, and participation.
At the National Fono, we believe we achieved the following:
- Raised visibility and educated attendees on work pieces which impact Pacific workers like the Pacific Pay Gap, Kia Toipoto, the government pay gap action plan, and bargaining processes.
- Reviewed and reflected on the visions, purpose and workplans of our demographic representatives (women, men and youth)
- Carried out a gap analysis on our newly created Va Moana delegate and Pacific sector representatives and how we can continue to build, and mould these roles to respond to the needs of Pacific members
Traditionally Pacific people engage as a village. Despite the Covid restrictions that made it hard to gather in this way over the past three years, our way of engagement has still enabled the network to grow and therefore be more visible. We have created structures that are responsive, developed work plans that are flexible and allowed our network to learn and grow.
The PSA Pasefika Network will be holding their elections for the Network Komiti and Youth Leaders in October followed by the election of our Pacific Sector representatives and Co-Convenors of the Va Moana Delegate Village in November.
