VZCZCXRO0198
PP RUEHDE RUEHROV RUEHTRO
DE RUEHNR #1286/01 0791332
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 201332Z MAR 07
FM AMEMBASSY NAIROBI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8403
INFO RUCNSOM/SOMALIA COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 4132

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 NAIROBI 001286 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPT FOR AF/E, AF/RSA, AND DRL/IL 
DEPT ALSO PASS TO DEPT OF LABOR FOR SUDHA HALEY, PATRICK WHITE AND 
MAUREEN PETTIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: ELAB ECON PHUM PGOV SO
SUBJECT: Somalia's Labor Sector Needs 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: On March 15, Mr. Abdi Abdille, Technical Advisor 
to Somalia's Labor Minister, gave LabAtt the following priorities 
for Somalia's labor sector and asked for assistance in addressing 
them: Creating jobs quickly through labor intensive projects; 
rebuilding both vocational and academic education institutions; 
labor law reforms; and, rebuilding the capacity of both the Ministry 
of Labor and the trade unions.  Child labor is rampant due to 
poverty and lack of educational opportunities.  The ILO will fund 
Somalia's attendance at a tripartite African Labor Conference in 
Addis Ababa in April to provide an opportunity to request 
assistance.  End Summary. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) At the suggestion of the regional ILO representative, 
LabAtt met with Technical Advisor to the Minister of Labor, Mr. Abdi 
Abdille, on March 15 to discuss Somalia's labor sector and its 
needs.  Abdille said he is a Kenyan working for the Transitional 
Federal Government (TFG) and based in Baidoa, but has not yet been 
to Mogadishu.  He provided the following information. 
 
Create Jobs First 
----------------- 
¶3. (U) After 15 years of turmoil, the top labor issue in Somalia is 
creating employment, especially for young men who have little 
education, and whose only current opportunity is carrying a gun in a 
militia.  Youth and other vulnerable people, like women heading 
households, need jobs now.  He urged assistance for labor intensive 
projects including construction and repair of dirt roads, citing a 
similar ILO project in South Africa.  He also praised an ILO project 
funded by Italy which hired about 200 people to clean litter and 
debris from the streets of Baidoa, and 1,800 to do the same in 
Mogadishu. 
 
Train Workers 
------------- 
¶4. (U) Somalia has a high literacy rate (in Somali), but educational 
and training institutions have deteriorated.  Vocational training 
(VT) programs must be established to train and certify skilled 
workers in all fields, including ICT.  The premier former State-run 
VT institution is currently operating as a private institution with 
German assistance.  A committee of academics and professionals will 
be established to certify academic credentials for teachers and 
instructors, but rebuilding the education system will be a long 
process. 
 
Reform Labor Laws, Build Labor Sector Capacity 
--------------------------------------------- - 
¶5. (U) Somalia's labor laws are a socialist legacy of Siad Barre's 
government, and must be revised to fit the real world.  An 
employers' federation has been established.  A UNDP governance 
project funded by Norway created a Civil Service Commission that 
hired about 10 staff at the Ministry of Labor, but the Ministry 
lacks almost everything it needs to function.  There are no 
functioning labor unions in Somalia, and the labor federation under 
Siad Barre was part of the Socialist party.  Some union and 
federation officials may remain in Somalia, but none have come 
forward yet, and they probably retain the socialist mind-set. 
 
Child Labor Remains Rampant 
--------------------------- 
¶6. (U) Child labor is severe and common.  Children break rocks into 
gravel for construction without any protective gear, and work as 
vendors of cigarettes and miraa on the streets.  Herding and farming 
with their families is also the norm, but are less hazardous. 
 
Requesting Aid 
-------------- 
¶7. (SBU) Abdille said the Minister of Labor was attending a meeting 
of the Arab Labor Organization, mainly to request assistance.  The 
ILO will fund a Somali delegation to a tripartite African Labor 
Conference in Addis Ababa in April to begin Somalia's re-integration 
into the labor sector.  ILO SG Somavia will meet the Somali 
delegation and facilitate requests for labor assistance.  The 
Ministry will draw up project proposals, and Abdille agreed to send 
copies to LabAtt. 
 
Immediate Assistance Provided 
----------------------------- 
¶8. (U) LabAtt provided names and contact information at the 
Solidarity Center's Nairobi office so Abdille could request Somalis 
be included in some labor union training programs.  Abdille was 
aware of the U.S. Department of Labor-funded "Strengthening Labor 
Relations in East Africa" (SLAREA) project to update and harmonize 
labor laws within the East African Community (EAC), and had hard 
copies of Kenya's labor reform bills.  LabAtt provided soft copies 
 
NAIROBI 00001286  002 OF 002 
 
 
to allow Abdille and the Ministry to review them more easily and 
perhaps use them as the basis for Somali labor reform bills. 
 
RANNEBERGER