Factory, Outdoor Workers Bear Heatwave Brunt, Govt Advises Work Hour Changes

The heatwave advisory, issued by the Union labour and health ministries have directed all states and union territories, placing special emphasis on ensuring adequate rest and cooling measures for outdoor and factory workers.

The labour and employment ministry said in an advisory to state and UT chief secretaries that the establishments should be allowed to reschedule working hours, enhance manpower to divide the workload and provide adequate rest and cooling measures, especially for factory, mine and construction workers.

Citing the details of the advisory, The Economic Times stated that special attention needs to be paid to construction workers, brick kiln workers, daily wagers and casual workers. The advisory also urged states to put in place an effective implementation and monitoring mechanism to ensure effectiveness of these measures.

“India has been experiencing above-normal temperatures during the months across most parts of the country each year with workers and labourers being the worst sufferers of extreme heatwave conditions,” labour secretary Vandana Gurnani stated in the advisory.

Rising Heatwave Threat

India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted above-normal heatwave days between April and June across most parts of the country. IMD has in its update forecast scorching heat conditions to continue over parts of Northwest and Central India over the next few days.

According to The Economic Times, the health ministry has directed the state health authorities to take four urgent steps, set up dedicated heat stroke management units at every health facility, ensure ambulance services are fully operational and appropriately staffed, disseminate early warnings to communities in time for preventive action and report heat stroke management units at every health facility, ensure ambulance services are fully operational and adequately staffed, disseminate early warnings to communities in time for preventive action and report heat stroke cases in real time through the ministry’s Integrated Health Information Platform (IHIP).

Gig Economy Faces Heat Stress

Considering the intensity of heatwaves last year, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) had stepped in to direct an approach for disaster risk reduction including the issues related to the informal and gig workers who are exposed to severe heatwaves.  

According to a May 2024 report published by World Health Organisation, Rising heat stress, driven by global warming, is projected to cause major productivity losses, equivalent to 80mn full-time jobs by 2030, with India among the most vulnerable countries. Outdoor workers, particularly in agriculture and construction, face the highest risks, with productivity potentially dropping by 50% at temperatures above 33 to 34 degrees Celsius. High temperatures impact cognitive function, reduce physical capacity and can worsen chronic health conditions.