Dubai The Taqdeer Award management started its first campaign of on-site visits to top construction companies as a part of its initiatives to enhance awareness about the Award.
During the first phase of these initiatives, the Taqdeer team made visits to the participating companies, interacted with the workers, and also distributed Taqdeer Award stickers and brochures, to be displayed in the premises of the companies, on buses and also gave T-shirts and caps for labourers in these companies.
The Taqdeer Award was launched last year under the patronage of Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of Dubai Executive Council.
It is the world’s first points-based award programme for recognising excellence in labour welfare practices and seeks to promote international best practices in labour welfare among construction companies along with enhancing relationship between companies and workers and also recognising excellence among workers.
Major General Obaid Muhair Bin Surour, chairman of Taqdeer Award and deputy director-general of the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs (GDRFA) in Dubai, said: “We would like to thank the construction companies in Dubai for their overwhelming response to participating in Taqdeer Award.”
This, he added, reflected their keenness to be a part of the Award, show their commitment to deliver the best and set the highest international standards when it comes to adopting labour welfare measures and also shows that the companies acknowledge the valuable contribution that the labourers have made in the progress of the construction sector in Dubai.
The initiatives started by the Award management are aimed at boosting the relationship between employers and employees, generating awareness about workers’ rights and welfare measures across sectors in the Dubai.
The Taqdeer Award team members who paid the on-site visits included Major Khalid Esmail Al Rahma from GDRFA, who is the secretary-general of Taqdeer Award, who interacted with representatives of companies and also with labourers in these companies. The team will visit more companies in the coming days.
Taqdeer Award seeks to establish new benchmarks in best practices across labour-intensive sectors in Dubai. In its first cycle in 2016, the award is focusing on construction sector companies and this will be expanded in its future cycles to include both free zones and manufacturing companies.
There are around 282 companies in this sector in Dubai, providing jobs for more than 500,000 workers. The award will target those companies employing more than 100 workers.
Meanwhile, the Taqdeer Award Certified Assessors, who include managerial level experts from different nationalities and with experience of being associated in assessment procedures, have started the evaluation process for construction companies in Dubai that have applied to participate in Taqdeer Award 2016.
Winners of 5- and 4-star ratings will receive a certificate, enjoy priority in government projects, and will be honoured at an award ceremony. These top ratings will give companies a competitive advantage in bidding for international contracts.
