Whānau Ora Commissioning agency in the South Island, Te Pūtahitanga o Te Waipounamu, is seeking the living wage for its Whānau Ora Navigator workforce.

Te Pūtahitanga funds 100 Navigator roles that work within 38 different host agencies throughout the South Island. The Navigators are an integral part of the health, economic, cultural and social workforce acting as the interface between whānau and the wider community.

Today, Tā Mark Solomon, Chair of General Te Pūtahitanga o Te Waipounamu, confirmed that it has asked those agencies to pay Navigators a living wage.

“We want to see greater recognition for the unique role Whānau Ora Navigators play in the delivery of the Whānau Ora approach across the South Island. For our part we have provided funding to each of the agencies where Navigators have been placed to assist those agencies to pay a living wage,” said Tā Mark.

“Throughout the COVID-19 lockdown, they proved their value. In a complex and demanding environment, they were one of many incredibly effective frontline elements in the Government’s COVID-19 response. They work in a culturally distinctive manner, using a specific context, that gives effect to Māori development aspirations as well as Whānau Ora.

“We are also working to ensure ongoing professional development is provided to every navigator and done within a Māori worldview and Whānau Ora context,” he said.

“Major epidemics in this century have raised income inequality and hurt the employment prospects of people on lower wages, while scarcely affecting those with advanced degrees. We see it as a fundamental tenant of Whānau Ora to ensure the COVID-19 pandemic does not have similar distributional consequences on the Whānau Ora Navigators.”

Whānau Ora navigation is a strength-based intervention. By connecting whānau with appropriate services, reconnecting them with their own whānau supports; and advocating on their behalf, Whānau Ora Navigators work to ensure whānau needs are addressed in an uplifting and holistic way. They have strong support networks available to them to enable holistic wrap-around support, intervention and care.

“We know from various evaluations that whānau respond better when working alongside Whānau Ora Navigators as this enables a more integrated delivery of social services for whānau and capability building at a whānau level to respond to increasing levels of complex needs. These are attributes that are highly desirable when we’re talking about early intervention,” said Tā Mark.

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