Leading companies involved in the construction of buildings, roads, bridges and power generation plants will be vying for the Dubai government's inaugural Taqdeer Awards, to honour firm with labour welfare practices.

A workshop to create awareness on the Taqdeer awards was recently organised for the construction sector at the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs (GDRFA) in its Dubai premises.

Executives from leading construction firms, who attended the workshop, said these awards not only inspire them to further enhance their labour welfare measures but also ensure that every aspect of worker-related practices is taken care of.

The Taqdeer Award (named after the Arabic word for ‘appreciation’), launched under the patronage of Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and chairman of the Dubai Executive Council, 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 and enhance relationship between companies and workers.

The awards are targeted at the construction sector in its first cycle.

According to the latest Deloitte and Meed Projects report, over $390.8 billion worth of projects are under construction or in the pipeline in Dubai and the construction sector has a significant contribution in the UAE emirate's GDP (nearly eight per cent) and employs 500,000 workers.

Fawzieh Shahrour, a trainer at Team Power International, which conducted the training, said: "The assessment criteria are quite comprehensive and cover several aspects of labour practices in an organisation."

The assessment team will evaluate the companies on essential fundamentals such as labour policies, facilities, health and safety, labour security, recruitment and wages; culture and work environment which includes transparency, innovation and creativity, labour relations, communication and feedback, administration, and labour perceptions and feedback.

The training workshop is aimed at helping companies understand details of each of these aspects so that they can understand areas they can improve upon."

The training workshop was attended by around 30 representatives from different companies.

Redha Ghanim, the senior manager, Al-Futtaim Carillion, who attended the session, said: "We believe that in order to continue improving and excellence, there should be challenges. The award brings before us a challenge and we are very keen, we would want to ensure we get the highest ranking."

"Our company is very active in taking initiatives for the benefit of our workers, and our effort is to go an extra mile and give them more than expected. We have, for instance, a clinic within the company premises and many other facilities," stated Ghanim.

The majority of the participants believe the award will benefit both workers and employers in Dubai as it keeps interests of both parties.

Ahmad Ataya, the administration manager, Belhasa Six Construct: "These awards focus on the welfare of workers, which will improve their performance and, in turn, benefit the companies. It will benefit both employers and workers."

"The award will also further enhance the image of Dubai on an international level as the companies, such as ours, will get recognition for their labour welfare measures," he added.

Karim El Shennawy, the business development manager, Al Shafar General Contracting (ASGC), said: "Our company has clear labour welfare policies. By participating in the award, we will be able to assess if there are any areas we need to pay special attention to. This will help is ensure that there are no gaps in implementing labour welfare practices."

The award will inspire all companies to achieve the highest ranking and excel and will benefit both workers as well as companies, said the participants.

Bianca Wilton, the employee relations manager, Al Futtaim Carillion, said: "As the construction sector employs a very high number of workers, we believe the award rightly focuses on this sector in the first phase."

"It will inspire all companies across the UAE, it will raise awareness on enhancing labour welfare measures," she added.

Serin Mathew, the assistant manager, HR (human resources) operations, Chicago Maintenance & Construction Company, said: "As an ISO-certified company, we already have sound policies and practices in place. Taqdeer Award participation, I feel will help us focus on areas that need to be paid attention to, it will help us excel."

Daq Tanvir, the HR manager for Dutco Balfour Beatty Group, said: "The award will help us benchmark against the industry and see where we stand. It will be a recognition for us on what we do and help us understand where we stand in the industry."

In the first year of the award, only companies involved in the construction of buildings, roads, bridges, tunnels, plumbing installation and power generation plants are eligible for applying, said the GDRFA officials.

These awards will encourage the construction companies in Dubai to set exemplary international standards in labour practices, they added.-TradeArabia News Service