ABOUR LAW AND THE RIGHT TO LIVELIHOOD UNDER CONSTITUTION

AUTHOR – ARTHI K, STUDENT AT SCHOOL OF EXCELLENCE IN LAW, THE TAMIL NADU DR AMBEDKAR LAW UNIVERSITY

BEST CITATION – ARTHI K, LABOUR LAW AND THE RIGHT TO LIVELIHOOD UNDER CONSTITUTION, INDIAN JOURNAL OF LEGAL REVIEW (IJLR), 6 (5) OF 2026, PG. 01-05, APIS – 3920 – 0001 & ISSN – 2583-2344.

ABSTRACT

One of the key aspects of human dignity and a pillar of socio-economic justice in the Indian constitution is the right to livelihood. Even though it is not stated as a fundamental right, judiciary has broadly applied the provisions of Article 21 of the Indian Constitution to include the right to livelihood and this has made it a constitutionally guaranteed right. This paper is a critical analysis of the cross-section of labour law and constitutional requirements with a special focus on the translation of constitutional guarantees into effective rights by statutory regimes. It does a doctrinal review of landmark judicial statements such as Olga Tellis v. Bombay Municipal Corporation, which solidly anchored livelihood as a right to life.

Moreover, the research assesses how important labour laws contribute towards ensuring employment security, equitable pay, and decent working conditions. It deals also with modern issues like the pre-eminence of the informal sector, the contractualization of labor and the emergence of platforms in the gig economy, which challenge the sufficiency of current legal frameworks. The paper finds that constitutionalization of livelihood rights is a big step but to make it work, strong enforcement, legal changes and a rights-based approach to labour regulation in the fast-changing economy are all that is needed.

KEYWORDS

Socio-Economic Rights,Judicial Activism,Informal Sector,Gig Economy, Employment Rights,Social Justice.