The Government of Dubai has launched the Taqdeer Award to celebrate excellence in labour relations.This unique initiative – the world’s first points-based award programme for promoting employee welfare – will grade the companies depending on their employment practices.

Participating companies have to show their use of global benchmarks including labour policies, facilities and infrastructure, health and safety, labour security, recruitment and wages, justice and transparency, communication and feedback, creativity and innovation, administration, labour perceptions and key performance indicators, to get recognised under the award programmeFollowing a rigorous evaluation of their applications by an independent judging committee, the businesses will be awarded a rating between one and five stars.

Although the programme will be extended to other industries, for the first year, the programme is open only to Dubai-based companies in the construction sector that employ manual workers.Winners of 4 and 5-star ratings will receive certificates; will be given priority in government projects and honoured at a dedicated ceremony.

As well as getting the prestigious award, top ratings will give companies a distinct competitive advantage with regards to international opportunities.These incentives will help inspire excellence in labour relations and encourage companies to place the welfare of their workforce as one of the pillars of their business philosophy.