Smart app creating waves among blue collar workers
dubai — There is more to than just buying food to make the blue-collar community happy. They are away from their families, loved ones and the only way they can connect to them is through their smartphone.
A phone donation drive and a field survey, made an Indian expat realise that the best gift or incentive for blue collar workers is offering them free phone credit so they can talk to their families back home. Indian expat Abu Muadh used his vast IT experience and volunteering streak to develop a mobile app called ‘Smart Labour’, which now is creating waves within the blue collar community with 40,000 registered on it.
This is an initiative by the Smart Labour and Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MoHRE) where workers can send their innovative ideas / videos under this app.
The app which is now backed and promoted by the Dubai Expo team as well as the MoHRE for blue-collar innovation, even allows residents to buy goodies through an online gift store, which can later be redeemed by workers by completing short courses for points.
Education, rewards, engagement and innovation are the four main aspects of this app. “When I visited the workers’ accommodations personally, I realised that the workers were not interested in education because they already toil and do enough physical work and then they have no energy or motivation to study. But one incentive changed these dynamics — it was free talk time / credit on their smart phones that could help them talk to their families. This worked wonders as more and more workers started doing courses on the app in a bid to get reward points. I feel the best gift for them is education the ‘smart way’,” Muadh said.
The app rewards workers for completing simple tasks like watching an informative video or completing a short course – and these rewards can be redeemed through smart points.
“The app also has integrated Dubai Smart government’s Happiness Meter, where for the first time blue collar workers are voting
on this happiness meter,” added Muadh.
“It’s been a privilege to witness Smart Labour scale up from design stage of the app to having a real impact on the lives of 40,000+ workers. Expo Live’s Innovation Impact Grant has helped them expand and to create more content. We are thrilled the MoHRE and Dubai Taxi have also put their trust in Smart Labour, “said Yousuf Caires, vice-president of Expo Live – Expo 2020 Dubai.
Commenting on the initiative,
MoHRE chief innovation officer Ahmad Yousuf Al Nasser said: “The blue collar workforce of the UAE is recognised as one of the key contributors in helping realise the dream of building the country. While we all recognise their contribution, Smart Labour is working to explore another side of this lot - their innovating skills and talents. And they are educating them to hone their skills using technology.
“We have received some great innovative ideas from blue collar workers via the Smart Labour app and will also make sure we honour and reward workers in our unique way to encourage other workers to share their ideas. I urge all employers to support blue collar innovation, Al Nasser said.