Dubai to launch Excellence Cards for labourers on May 17

Under the patronage of Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of Dubai Executive Council, organisers of the Taqdeer Award announced that it will be launching and activating the Excellence Cards for the labour sector, a new initiative that forms part of the emirate’s efforts to enhance the welfare of workers and raise benchmarks in labour practices.

The announcement, set to be made at a gala award ceremony to be held on May 17 at the Rashid Hall of the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC), seeks to recognise the contributions of companies who received 4- and 5-star ratings in the Taqdeer Award’s fourth edition last year, as well as their workers.

The Excellence Cards project offers more than 35 incentives extended by four government agencies, Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA), Dubai Municipality and General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs in Dubai (GDRFA-Dubai), to support and encourage the companies that received the high Taqdeer Award ratings to continue their journey of excellence in caring for their workers.

The project also features a wide range of incentives and discounts extended by private institutions for the workers of these companies.

Major General Obaid Muhair Bin Surour, Chairman of Taqdeer Award, Chairman of the Permanent Committee for Labour Affairs (PCLA) in Dubai and Deputy Director of the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs in Dubai (GDRFA-Dubai), said the Excellence Cards is a pioneering project that aims to enhance efforts to establish sustainable policies and standards in labour care and ensure that company owners and workers maintain their responsibilities and obligations towards each other. The initiative is a token of appreciation for the excellence shown by companies and workers in meeting high labour practice standards.

In its initial phase, the Excellence Cards will be given to 15 major national and international companies that won 4- and 5-star ratings in the fourth edition of the Taqdeer Award in 2020 as well as the 50,000 workers of these companies.

He said: "The project is the result of the tireless efforts and our constructive discussions with the supporting government agencies. This initiative has become a reality thanks to the exceptional incentives they have offered, which stems from their commitment to promote a culture of excellence in labour welfare and their keenness to enhance Dubai’s and the UAE’s benchmarks and global reputation in worker welfare practices."

The Chairman expressed his deep appreciation for the government’s support which will contribute to motivating thousands of companies in the emirate’s free zones and its construction, professional services and manufacturing sectors to participate in the upcoming editions of the Award. It will also inspire them to accelerate the realisation of the vision to create an exceptional labour environment in which companies and workers not only honour their duties towards each other but also contribute in unison to the national economy.

The Excellence Cards project features 35 sets of incentives for companies and workers, most notably, discounts ranging from 25 to 50 per cent on fees for the submission of tender documents to several government bodies, additional points for the engineering excellence initiative within the technical evaluation process for contractors and consultants in Dubai Municipality projects under the specific criteria of the Building Permits Department,  waiver of renewal fees for professional competence certificates for engineers for a renewable period of a year.  

Other incentives include membership in GDRFA-Dubai’s Innovation and Creativity Center that will allow the workers and companies to take advantage of its services; special facilities for registering intellectual property; free virtual training courses at Dewa Academy; free NoL cards for workers; and opportunities for companies to place an advertisement on Dubai Metro Station display boards.

Major General Obaid bin Surour said the project features two types of cards. The first is a Gold Card that will be awarded to companies with 4- and 5-star ratings to obtain the incentives provided by government departments, while the second is a Blue Card that will enable eligible workers to obtain special discounts from malls and commercial establishments located near their labour accommodations.

Bin Surour said the total value of discounts provided by malls, commercial establishments and national and international private companies amounts to millions of dirhams.

The Taqdeer Award is supported by RTA, Dewa, Dubai Municipality, GDRFA-Dubai, wasl Asset Management Group and Dubai TV as Strategic Partners, along with NIA, the Platinium Sponsor, flydubai and emaratech, the Gold Sponsors, and Emirates NBD, ENOC and Al Fardan Exchange, the Silver Sponsors.

Major Khaled Ismail, Secretary-General of the Award, said: "As the award is organised once every two years, the advantages of the Excellence Cards will continue throughout these two years. The benefits and discounts are then given to new winners in the next editions of the award."

The winning companies can register on the Award’s website to obtain government incentives, while the award team will coordinate with government agencies and private institutions to ensure eligible workers can take advantage of the incentives. The award team will hold a workshop to brief the winning companies and workers on how they can take advantage of the Excellence Card.

The gala ceremony for announcing the beneficiaries of the initiative will be attended by prominent leaders from government departments, senior officials, representatives of regional and international organisations, professionals from different departments in government and private sectors, members of diplomatic corps and the media.


WAM