Industry, Labour and Society studies the impact of industry on society and social institutions and vice-versa with reference to the changing economic, social and political landscapes of India.

The chapters in this book discuss the following themes:

• Social organisation of industry that includes authority structures, bureaucracy, scientific management and human relations
• The role of conflict and cooperation between labour and management and related theoretical perspectives.
• The labour movement in India with a focus, among others, on labour legislations, viz., the Factory, Trade Union, and Industrial Disputes Acts.
• The unorganised/ informal sector, which employs an overwhelming majority of the working population.

The author looks at how the lowering of trade barriers and the move towards liberalisation, privatisation and outsourcing, have affected the working class. He shows how providing labour rights can be a more effective way of ensuring productivity. In this context, he examines the notion of ‘Decent Work’ as promoted by the International Labour Organization (ILO) that deals with rights and social protection of/for children, women workers and those belonging to socially oppressed groups in developing countries.

Each chapter in the volume lists the salient features at the beginning, provides key concepts with their definitions and ends with further readings and references. Written in a lucid and accessible manner, this will be a must-read for students of industrial sociology, labour studies and development studies.