Blue Dot Network Certification launched

The Blue Dot Network (BDN), an OECD-supported certification framework for infrastructure projects, was recently launched on the OECD 2024 Infrastructure Forum. BWI expressed its happiness in seeing that its inputs made through as a result of its active participation in the initiative's executive consultation group, and throughout the development process of the framework as seen in the certification criteria.

BWI, supported by the Trade Union Advisory Committee to the OECD (TUAC), has been actively working on strengthening the labour components of the certification since the first version of the criteria was launched in 2021. The updates achieved to recognise the value of workers and their representative unions in delivering healthy, safe, and secure worksites throughout an infrastructure project’s life cycle.

Among the criteria the BDN certification incentivises collectively bargained standards for decent work. Three levels of certification can be applied to BDN-certified projects: Essential, Superior and “Best in Class.” 

The BDN will award high marks to project owners and contractors who demonstrate the best-in-class approach to worker and trade union engagement. There are ten areas of certification criteria for BDN projects. Support for collective bargaining is exemplified in Labour and Working Conditions criteria where: 

• Essential criteria for any infrastructure project under the certification includes respecting for ILO Conventions on the right to organise and collectively bargain. 
• Superior projects will go further by requiring global framework agreements or other type of binding agreements with trade unions as a condition in contractural provisions of the project, guaranteeing respect for workers’ rights and collective bargaining is in place for all project operations.
• “Best in Class” projects are only possible when they have collective bargained agreements in place on the project or follow national sectoral agreements. Project Owners and contractors desiring best-in-class certifications will have to demonstrate a priority for meaningful dialogue with workers and trade unions from project design through operations. 

Additional scoring criteria can support BWI's work on health and safety monitoring, and remediation when issues arise. All social criteria require project owners to use contracts and bidding processes to ensure standards apply to all project workers. Having these social guarantees from the project design stage also satisfies the investors’ demand for predictability, without potential labour disputes that can delay the project delivery.

BWI General Secretary Ambet Yuson : “Trade unions are well acquainted with certification schemes and safeguard policies that fail workers. We hope that this scheme will invest in effective implementation and preventive rather than reactive measures to deliver collectively bargained wages, safe worksites, and legitimate grievance and remediation mechanisms. To do this, OECD governments need to ensure that the planning, implementation and monitoring of commitments to the certification are seen on the ground.” 

Read more about the initiative.