By: Suntaree Saeng-ging, Executive Director of HomeNet Southeast Asia
HomeNet Thailand, together with the Federation of Informal Workers, was invited by Thai Public Broadcasting Service Television (Thai PBS), a state television channel, to organize a television program on the impact of climate change on informal workers on 11 March 2026, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. ICT.
The program aired on Thai PBS’s Facebook page and was also reported during the evening news program on the same day. The title of the program was “Listening to the Voice of Thailand: Humans Are Not Robots to Work Under Hot Sunshine All Day Long – How Informal Workers Will Survive in an Erratic World.”
The purpose of the program was to reflect on the impact of extreme heat on informal economy workers who work outdoors under the sun. These groups include street vendors, domestic workers, motorcycle taxi drivers, and home-based workers. The program featured perspectives from environmental academics and relevant government officers from the Department of Climate Change and Environment, the Department of Disease Control, the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation, and the Department of Labour Protection and Welfare.
During the program, informal economy worker representatives shared their policy recommendations, particularly regarding climate justice, access to social protection, and necessary infrastructure and welfare. Recommendations included developing warning systems, improving workplaces for informal economy workers with thermal insulation and ventilation, providing more drinking water stations, and enhancing the benefits of the national universal health care and social security schemes to respond to extreme heat.
