His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of The Executive Council of Dubai and Patron of the Taqdeer Award for Workers and Distinguished Companies, said the new international Taqdeer Award is a true reflection of Dubai’s vision to advance workers’ rights and inspire productivity on a global level.

His Highness stated: “This award is a testament to Dubai’s commitment to establishing a productive, harmonious and equitable work environment for both employers and employees and ensuring their rights and interests are preserved. Enhancing the Taqdeer award to include a global scope is an initiative aimed at promoting the principles of a sustainable and positive labour market on an international scale.

By broadening the award’s reach to encompass workforces from around the world, we are actualising our vision and commitment to making the emirate a hub of labour welfare excellence. Initiating this international award and incorporating the 7-star category is also part of Dubai’s multifaceted strategy to raise organisational standards related to employee welfare. Through the expanded award we also seek to promote a culture of compassion and care for workers and acknowledge their invaluable contributions to fostering the wellbeing of diverse communities.”

“Furthermore, the international Taqdeer Award forms part of our efforts to cultivate a workforce that is globally competitive and empowered, aligning with our objectives to maintain the highest levels of worker welfare and employee satisfaction," His Highness added.

His Highness praised the efforts of the team behind the award and urged them to work to highlight Dubai and the UAE’s quest for excellence and leadership in every sphere.

His Highness was speaking on the occasion of the launch of the sixth cycle of the Taqdeer Award and its evolution into a global benchmark, building on the impressive results showcased in previous cycles and Dubai’s reputation among the premier cities of the world.

His Excellency Major General Mohamed Ahmed Al Marri, Director General of the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs (GDRFA), attended the launch of the latest cycle of the Award.  

His Excellency Major General Obaid Muhair bin Suroor, Deputy Director General of the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs and Chairman of the Taqdeer Award, said: "Dubai has always set new benchmarks with its unique initiatives and its holistic view of the world as part of the vision of its government, which is steadfastly committed to raising the welfare and happiness levels of its people."  

Major General Bin Suroor said His Highness was a constant inspiration as the Patron of the Award, spurring all around him to reach greater heights and also highlighting Dubai’s inclusive ethos and goal to be the best city to live, work and invest in.

Vision and objectives

On the vision and objectives of the award, Major General Bin Suroor said in his presentation during a press conference: "Taqdeer is a unique strategic government initiative in the world; its first cycle was launched in 2016 and its mission is to work to promote international best practices be it in terms of worker welfare and respect or appreciation for the achievements of companies. It enables a positive work environment in which the potential of individuals and their creative contributions are valued as investments that enhance the reputation and leadership of Dubai and the UAE to foster empowered workforces and ensure their rights in accordance with the best international practices and charters."

On the reasons for taking the award global, HE bin Suroor said: "We accepted it as a challenge to spur competitiveness while promoting enduring relationships between companies and workers and launched a prize of AED1 million for the winning company that secures the highest rating in the 7-star category.”

There are many reasons behind the award offering a global platform, most notably the goal of serving as a turning point in the lives and work environments of hundreds of millions of workers around the world and for millions of companies that believe that their workforce is one of the secrets of their success and leadership,” HE Bin Suroor said.

Creative initiatives

The award has inspired creative initiatives which are the first of their kind in the world, the most prominent of which is the signing of memorandums of understanding with 12 government entities in Dubai under which the latter will provide wonderful incentives to companies winning the 4 and 5-star categories. It also inspired a golden card awarded to distinguished companies winning the 4–5-star categories. This card allows corporate beneficiaries to obtain great discounts and benefits that enhance their reputation locally and internationally. It also launched a special discount card for distinguished workers supported by 110 retail centres and multi-service commercial establishments. This allows some 210,000 workers to save more than AED300 million annually, if each of them saves AED1,500 over two years of card validity.

AED1 million award for winning company

During the press conference, HE bin Suroor revealed the launch of a prize of AED1 million to be awarded to the company that tops the list of winners in the 7-star category and achieves the highest rating in the classifications. In addition, the top ranked company would garner additional incentives, giving it preference when it comes to approving projects, whether in the UAE or globally.

HE Bin Suroor also expressed his deep appreciation for all those who contribute to the success of the award and promote its objectives, including strategic partners among government agencies and companies supporting the labour discount card. He also thanked the firm ONPASSIVE, which has stepped up as a new strategic sponsor, for its support and sponsorship of the award in its sixth cycle and for its formidable efforts to promote the award locally and globally, relying on its professional team and experts in the spheres of marketing, media, and Artificial Intelligence.

A vision that looks to the future

The process of developing the Award's strategy included making significant adjustments to its criteria to keep pace with its global vision. On the most prominent of these amendments, Brigadier General Abdul Samad Hussein, Excellence Consultant to the Award, said: "We will seek to make the criteria of the Award a way of life for companies and workers of the world as we focus on transforming the concept of the traditional workforce, and skilled and unskilled workers to align with a knowledge economy. We have also focused on stepping up from reactive policies to policies that pave the way for proactive strategies based on the future for a happier, more successful, and productive labour sector. The amendments also included standards that inspire a transition from acceptable institutional performance to exceptional institutional performance.

Upgraded criteria and 7-star category

Touching on the reasons for upgrading the award criteria, Colonel Abdulsamad said: “In short, we developed the award criteria to challenge companies globally and spur competitiveness in attaining leadership positions and excellence in employee welfare. We are confident that companies competing in this category will seek to improve their policies and procedures as they bid to emerge winners. This will catalyse an ideal work environment that enhances the performance of their workforce and qualifies them to become 7-star category workers as well."

Novel registration Process

On the registration process for participating in the award, Colonel Khaled Ismail, the award's general secretary, said: "The award's technical team worked on incorporating Artificial Intelligence into the registration and evaluation processes to make them smoother and more dynamic.

"The evaluation system adopted by the award is the result of ongoing development for several months to achieve the desired results, making it the first of its kind in the world. The methodology of Artificial Intelligence is used to evaluate the inputs of the nomination requests and provide the results for each criterion of the award separately."

A new strategic partner

During the press conference to launch the award's sixth edition, a collaborative agreement was signed between Taqdeer Award and ONPASSIVE. The award was represented by HE Bin Suroor, with ONPASSIVE represented by Engineer Mohamed Kamal, the company's COO, in the presence of several of its senior employees.

Engineer Mohamed Kamal, the COO of ONPASSIVE, welcomed the strategic partnership with the Taqdeer Award saying: "We are delighted with the strategic partnership with this distinguished award. We believe that the UAE and Dubai have shown exemplary leadership in promoting the concept of comprehensive quality in all aspects of life, and raising the quality of the labour market, and associated legislation and standards to a position befitting Dubai's high global ranking in all fields."