Analogous to other low-income countries, the Indian labour market is characterized by a large segment of informal enterprises, non-standard employment, and precarious working conditions. Among unorganised sectors, construction stands out as the biggest non-firm sector employing a gigantic workforce, which mostly features multilevel subcontracting, violation of health and safety standards, and different forms of financial and non-financial exploitation. At this juncture, this research adopts an exploratory design to revisit the existing social security and propose a noble protection mechanism for unorganised workers. The primary data for the study were sourced from the construction sites, visiting five urban agglomerates in the state of Odisha. The mediating role of employment relations, workers&rsquo representation and contributory social security has been evaluated to establish the social protection framework. Furthermore, the role of government and regulatory framework is also examined to see the moderating effect. Employing Structural Equation Modelling with the help of smart PLS software, the proposed hypotheses are tested. The empirical results demonstrate the significance of employment relations, contributory social security, workers' representation, governmental intervention and regulatory framework towards attaining employment-based social protection. These vital outcomes substantiate the existing literature while having potential policy implications. The research has shown a feasible pathway to social protection by accentuating the role of unions, government and regulatory institutions, and all stakeholders.

Keywords: Informal employment, Unorganised workers, Employment relations, Social protection, Contributory social security, Workers&rsquo representation, Regulatory framework.