Gig Work, Climate Crisis and Urban Infrastructures: Some Thoughts

The relationship between gig work, extreme climatic events, and urban infrastructures is a compelling realm that needs to be studied carefully in the coming time in a country like India, which has an expanding gig workforce and a growing rate of extreme weather events. The survey report published by Telangana Gig and Platform Workers Union and HeatWatch on the gig workers’ experience of extreme heat in Hyderabad is one of the introductory works in this direction, which this essay closely reads. The report provides a ground to push our thinking of gig work in connection with urban infrastructures and reveals the vital role of the state in the matter.