Book excerpt: The sixth revised edition of Industrial Relations and Labour Laws captures the significant developments that have taken place in the realm of labour laws and industrial relations in the recent past. The most notable development in the legislative sphere is the amendment in the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 in 2010. In the judicial sphere, there has been a marked shift in the approach of the Indian judiciary in the area of discipline and disciplinary procedure. Moreover, new norms/principles have been evolved to determine the classification of a person as a workman, provide relief in case of illegal/wrongful termination of service of workmen, determine notice period for strike/lock-out in public utility services and for regularization of services of daily, temporary, casual or contract workers. Extensively revised and updated in line with the changes in the law, this edition also gives a new and more holistic dimension to the subject of labour--management relations. • Part I provides the contextual and constitutional framework of labour law and an overview of industrial relations. • Part II deals with the trade union movement, employers’ organizations and laws relating to trade unions, collective bargaining, unfair labour practices and victimization. • Part III deals with regulation of industrial disputes, persuasive, coercive and voluntary processes for settlement of industrial disputes, grievance procedure, government’s power of reference, laws relating to instruments of economic coercion, management of discipline, laws relating to change in conditions of service and lay-off, retrenchment, transfer and closure. • Part IV examines laws relating to standing orders. • Part V is on workers’ participation in management. This edition will serve as a comprehensive textbook for students of LLB, LLM, MBA, MSW, MPA, CS, and masters and diploma programmes in personnel management, industrial relations and labour law. It is indispensable for personnel managers, law officers, lawyers, trade union officials/ members, officials of labour department and members of the labour judiciary.