The Federation of Somali Trade Unions (FESTU) accused officials from the Federal Government of Somalia (FGS) of receiving gifts from FAVORI to ignore the plight of Somali workers.
FGS, under President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo, hired FAVORI to manage Aden Adde International Airport in Mogadishu.
However, since last year, FAVORI has been under intense scrutiny after Somali workers accused its top management of mistreating them.
On February 12, FESTU issued a press statement accusing several government officials of colluding with FAVORI to violate workers’ rights.
FAVORI, a Turkish firm, has hired Somali and Turkish workers.
According to the FESTU statement, well-placed government officials have received business class tickets from FAVORI.
Furthermore, the officials have also been rewarded with “free holidays in Turkey” and kickbacks to ignore the plight of Somali workers.
Specifically, the FESTU report mentioned Abdulkadir Nur Jama, the Minister of Justice, as the biggest beneficiary of the FAVORI favors.
The trade union accuses Jama of repeatedly intervening and lobbying the government to cover up the exploitation of Somali workers by FAVORI.