Pakistan marks Labour Day with warning of climate-driven workforce crisis

By Abdul Samad Tariq

ISLAMABAD, May 01 (APP):Pakistan marked International Labour Day on Friday with the Ministry of Climate Change and Environmental Coordination warning that intensifying heatwaves and recurring floods are fast evolving into a nationwide labour crisis, exposing millions of workers to growing health and economic risks.

“Climate change is no longer an environmental issue alone; it is a labour crisis unfolding in real time,” said Mohammad Saleem Shaikh, the ministry’s media spokesperson and climate policy advocacy specialist.

Talking to APP, he said Pakistan’s workforce — estimated at over 57 million — was increasingly on the frontlines of climate vulnerability, from heat-stressed daily wage earners to flood-affected farmers.

Despite contributing around one per cent to global greenhouse gas emissions, Pakistan remains among the countries most vulnerable to climate change. Around 43 per cent of its workers are employed in agriculture, leaving a significant portion directly exposed to erratic rainfall, drought and floods.

Shaikh noted that the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, including heatwaves, floods and glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs), had increased sharply over the past two decades, disproportionately affecting informal and outdoor workers with limited safety nets.

“When heat reduces a worker’s capacity or floods wipe out livelihoods overnight, the impact is immediate, personal and deeply economic,” he said.

The human cost is also rising. Heatwaves have claimed hundreds of lives in recent years, including more than 568 deaths during the 2024 extreme heat event, while thousands suffered heatstroke. Studies suggest heat-related deaths could exceed 15,000 annually under current climate conditions.

Citing the World Bank’s Country Climate and Development Report, Shaikh said rising temperatures and extreme weather were already eroding labour productivity and damaging public health, with climate impacts projected to reduce Pakistan’s GDP by up to 18–20 per cent by 2050 without accelerated adaptation measures.

Referring to a joint assessment by the International Labour Organization, World Bank and Asian Development Bank, he said around 3.3 million jobs were affected by the 2025 floods, with nearly 78pc of employment losses concentrated in rural areas.

“We are witnessing a dangerous convergence; extreme heat is reducing productivity, floods are destroying jobs, and vulnerable workers lack safety nets,” he said, warning that climate change could push millions into poverty and reverse development gains if urgent action was not taken.

He recalled that the 2022 floods, which affected over 33 million people and caused losses exceeding $15 billion, highlighted the scale of the threat. More recently, the 2025 floods impacted nearly 5.8 million people, disrupting livelihoods across provinces.

Workers in construction, agriculture, sanitation and manufacturing were among the hardest hit, often operating in informal settings without adequate occupational safety protections despite prolonged exposure to extreme heat.

Highlighting the policy response, Shaikh said labour protection had been incorporated into the National Climate Change Policy and the National Adaptation Plan, with an emphasis on coordinated federal and provincial action.

“The government’s approach is clear: climate resilience must begin at the level of the worker,” he said, adding that efforts were under way to enforce occupational safety standards, introduce climate-smart labour policies and invest in infrastructure that protects both lives and livelihoods.

Measures include heat action plans, climate-resilient agriculture initiatives, expanded early warning systems and strengthened social protection programmes such as cash transfers and climate risk insurance.

He added that federal and provincial governments were also promoting green jobs and skills development in renewable energy, sustainable infrastructure and ecosystem restoration.

Provincial disaster management authorities, labour departments and health institutions are being aligned to ensure effective implementation on the ground.

“Pakistan’s workers are paying the price for a crisis they did not create,” Shaikh said, calling on the international community to scale up support for climate-vulnerable countries through adaptation financing, loss and damage mechanisms, and investment in climate-resilient job creation.

He stressed that safeguarding labour was not only a social imperative but also essential for economic stability, adding that building a climate-resilient workforce would remain central to Pakistan’s development trajectory in the years ahead.