Somalia Launches Nationwide Initiative to Promote Safer, More Professional Public Workplaces

GOOBJOOG NEWS | MOGADISHU: Somalia has launched a nationwide initiative to improve workplace standards across its public institutions, as the government seeks to strengthen professionalism, accountability and employee protections as part of broader civil service reforms.

The National Civil Service Commission (NCSC), working with the Federation of Somali Trade Unions (FESTU), concluded a three-day training programme on Saturday that brought together more than 50 officials from federal government institutions. The programme marks the start of a wider campaign to promote respectful, safe and inclusive workplaces throughout Somalia’s public service.

Supported by the Ministry of Finance through the World Bank-funded Recurrent Cost and Reform Financing (RCRF) programme, the training focused on workplace ethics, professional conduct, gender equality, occupational safety and measures to prevent violence and harassment in government offices.

Deputy Minister of Labour and Social Affairs Amina Hussein Ali said creating safe and respectful workplaces was essential to improving public administration and strengthening service delivery.

National Civil Service Commission Chairman Hassan Abshirow Mohamed said building an effective civil service required not only technical skills but also institutions founded on integrity, accountability and mutual respect.

FESTU Secretary General Omar Faruk Osman described the initiative as an important step toward improving working conditions and reinforcing the rights of public sector employees.

The programme forms part of Somalia’s wider efforts to modernise its public administration following years of institutional reforms aimed at improving governance and rebuilding state capacity. Strengthening workplace standards has increasingly been viewed as a key element of those reforms, with officials arguing that better working environments can improve employee performance, public confidence and the quality of government services.

The initiative was developed following a workplace assessment across federal institutions that identified gaps in professional conduct, grievance-handling mechanisms and institutional safeguards against workplace misconduct.

Organisers said the programme will now expand through nationwide training, awareness campaigns and institutional support, with the aim of embedding a culture of professionalism, equality and respect across Somalia’s civil service.

For Somalia, the initiative represents another step in ongoing efforts to build a more capable and accountable public sector, an objective that international partners have increasingly linked to effective governance, economic reform and long-term state-building.