Dubai: The Taqdeer Award, a government effort designed to boost worker productivity and improve labour conditions, is making headway in helping thousands of companies to improve their workplaces, said a senior official in Dubai on Thursday.
Major-General Obaid Muhair Bin Surour, deputy director-general of Dubai’s General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs (GDRFA) and chairman of Taqdeer Award, told Gulf News that companies that have joined the award’s efforts have made major improvements by reaching out to workers.
“A recent study revealed a significant increase in the award’s two most important criteria, the institutional culture and the work environment. In terms of labour health and safety standard, the indicator rose to 34.3 points last year compared to 31.1 in 2016,” said Maj-Gen Bin Surour.
“There were big improvements in the measures taken by many of these companies in raising the living standards of workers as a result of the award. We recorded some new practices and examples by companies who took our feedback and evaluation reports to improve their points of weakness,” Maj-Gen Bin Surour said.
During the launch of the third edition of the Taqdeer Award in May, Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Dubai Crown Prince, Chairman of Dubai Executive Council of Dubai and patron of the Taqdeer Award, said the success of the first and second editions of the award is testament to the positive impact of the award.
“The award provides guidelines for improving the productivity of workers by enhancing their working conditions. The initiative contributes to realising the vision of our leaders to make Dubai the world’s best city to work and live in,” Maj-Gen Bin Surour added.
He called on contracting firms, factories and companies located in the free zones to participate in the award, as this will help them enhance their reputation locally and internationally.
All companies participating in the award will receive assessment reports that will help them to build on their strengths and address weaknesses. The award provides an opportunity for companies and factories to better prepare themselves for the future and enhance business sustainability.
“More than 46,000 companies across sectors, including construction, plants and free zones in Dubai, are expected to participate in the award. These companies provide jobs to more than a million workers. The number of construction companies operating in Dubai is 280, while those operating in Dubai free zones are over 36,000.”
The first edition of the award, which focused on construction companies, saw the participation of 280 companies that together employed more than half a million workers. The second edition of the award was expanded to include factories and free zone companies operating in Dubai, which gave an opportunity to about 10,000 factories and 36,000 other companies from different sectors to participate in the award. Following this expansion, over a million workers were covered by the award.”
An arbitration committee consisting of Dubai Government leaders and specialised assessors are tasked with evaluating the submissions. Members of the committee are divided into evaluation teams of three assessors and a team leader each. After evaluation, each team submits a comprehensive report to the committee for approval and final decision.
The award programme is based on a comprehensive points system.
Companies are given a score out of 1,000 that includes 500 points for the criterion of labour empowerment, 250 points for the work environment and workers’ relationship with employers and 250 points for key performance indicator scores.
The highest rating of five stars is awarded to companies that obtain 700 points or more. Companies that obtain over 550 points receive a four-star rating while companies with over 450 points get a three-star rating.
A two-star rating is awarded to companies with over 300 points while the lowest rating of one-star is awarded to companies with less than 300 points.
Winners of five-star and four-star ratings will receive a certificate of appreciation and enjoy priority in government projects.
