Dubai: More than 200 companies are expected to participate in the second edition of Taqdeer Award programme, which will be launched next month.
The award extends to include companies in the free zones, in addition to construction sector, according to Major-General Obaid Muhair Bin Surour, deputy director-general of the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs (GDRFA) in Dubai and chairman of Taqdeer Award.
In the first edition, the companies were recognised for adopting best practices for their workforces. They were selected based on Taqdeer points, which recognised excellence in labour welfare practices, Bin Surour said while addressing a special ceremony to honour Strategic Partners and 32 Assessors of Taqdeer Award.
The Taqdeer Award, launched by Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, in October, is the first of its kind in the world that seeks to recognise companies for their labour policies and efforts so as to inspire them to further improve their labour practices.
Bin Suroor handed over certificates of appreciation to the strategic partners for their role and efforts in the success of the award in the first edition itself.
Bin Surour expressed his gratitude to Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad, the patron of Taqdeer Award, for his strong support and for launching this award with the aim to building fruitful and successful work partnerships between employers and employees; ensuring their respective rights; and motivating companies to strengthen the pillars of decent living for their workers, taking care of them and protecting their rights.
Bin Suroor said: “ Taqdeer Award a major step towards enhancing quality and work life in Dubai. I look forward to make the Taqdeer Award a bigger success as we widen its reach and extend it to include companies in the free zones in its second cycle. I am confident that we will take this responsibility together and write another success story of our Dubai in the field of excellence, innovation and coexistence.”
In its first year, the programme saw the participation of 100 companies out of 282 companies in the sector in Dubai providing jobs to 500,000 labourers.
Participating companies were given a rating by the judging committee ranging from one to five stars, based on the number of points they received in an evaluation.
Earlier, Bin Suroor, said that companies which received a high rating will now enjoy priority in government projects and will have a competitive advantage in bidding for international contracts.
