The Dubai Municipality hosted a construction industry-wide awareness campaign to introduce the objectives, criteria and participation requirements of the 2nd cycle of the Taqdeer Award, a government initiative.

Major General Obaid Muhair bin Suroor, deputy director general of the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs (GDRFA)-Dubai and Chairman of Taqdeer Award, praised the efforts being made by the award’s Strategic Partners, including the Ministry of Social Affairs, Dubai Municipality and Dubai Free Zone Council, to disseminate the culture of excellence and build best constructive relations between employers and employees.

The workshop saw over 50 construction industry participants, and highlighted the benefits that the participating companies will reap – companies which get four and five-star ratings gets priority in bagging government projects.

Launched under the patronage of Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and chairman of Dubai Executive Council and patron of Taqdeer Award, it is the world’s first points-based reward system for recognizing excellence in labour welfare practices and promotion of international best practices in labour welfare.

It aims to achieve its goal of enhancing the reputation of the UAE as an exemplary labour market and setting benchmarks in labour welfare practices benefitting the Arab world’s second biggest economy.

In the first cycle, the award focused on construction companies and included over 280 companies employing more than half a million workers. The award has been extended to companies working in the free zones, ahead of the initial target of including them in 2019.

In the second cycle, the award includes factories and companies in the construction industry which employs more than 100 workers each.  There are about 10,000 factories operating in Dubai in different categories. Dubai has over 290 companies and more than 500,000 workers in the construction sector.

Nominations are ongoing for the second cycle of the award. The companies can participate by submitting a comprehensive submission document, which will be evaluated by a judging committee. The companies will be awarded the ratings from one star to five stars.

Winners of 5- and 4-star ratings will receive a certificate and enjoy priority in government projects, along with getting honoured at an award ceremony.  – TradeArabia News Service