Authors: Mrs. E. Aruna, Dr. M. Helen Mary Jacqueline
Abstract: Climate change is no longer a distant environmental concern in India but an increasingly lived reality for the nearly 90 per cent of the workforce engaged in the unorganised sector. Street vendors, construction workers, agricultural and allied workers, home-based workers, sanitation workers, fisher folk, brick-kiln workers and domestic workers face heightened exposure to rising temperatures, erratic rainfall, floods, cyclones and heat waves, while often lacking formal employment arrangements, occupational safeguards and adequate social security. This paper examines the intersecting health and livelihood vulnerabilities of unorganised workers in the context of climate change and critically assesses the adequacy of existing social protection mechanisms in addressing these emerging risks. Drawing on empirical studies, policy documents and grey literature, the paper develops an integrated conceptual and policy-oriented perspective on the climate–health–livelihood nexus. It argues that climate risk is increasingly a labour and social protection challenge rather than solely an environmental concern. Despite recent initiatives, including the Labour Codes, e-Shram and heat action plans, India's social protection architecture remains fragmented and predominantly reactive, with limited integration of climate-related occupational and health risks. The paper concludes by proposing a portable, inclusive and climate-responsive social protection framework to strengthen the health, livelihood security and adaptive capacity of India's unorganised workforce.
DOI: http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22303100
