Labour mobility is one of the key features of economic development and its characteristics are closely tied with the nature of this development. Historically, development is associated with unevenness and structural change, giving an impetus to the movement of workers from one region to another, and from one sector to another. Even within the macro-structural features which determine the supply of, and demand for, certain types of migrant labour, the pattern of migration depends on a host of factors determined by labour market characteristics, together with individual, household and community level features, and the existence of social networks, among other things. These factors cumulatively determine the ‘causes’ of migration. On the other hand, labour migration plays a key role in influencing the pattern of development, through its impact on a host of economic and non-economic variables, both in the origin and destination areas.  

The very movement from enquiry into the classic ‘industrial relations’ (for more than a century) to ‘employment relations’ (currently) is itself a commentary on the significant changes that have occurred in the world of work. Industrial relations was popularly, even mistakenly, believed to be synonymous with the world of work which was characterized solely by trade unions, collective bargaining and strikes in the classic industries like mining, textiles, and so on. However, structural changes in economic activity over the years, significantly in the socalled era of globalization, indicate that these industries are no longer dominant and that the service sector is increasingly becoming the largest employer of labour services. Yet another reason is that contrary to expectations, there has been persistence of a large majority of workers in informal employment, which often lacks well-defined employee space. Unionization and collective bargaining are not the norm either in the ‘sunrise sectors’ or the informal sector and hence non-union settings assume importance.