Introduction

Abstract

Structural transformations within the current phase of neoliberal capitalism have put considerable pressure on the well being of workers, by bringing about fundamental changes which have exacerbated inequalities through the reconfiguration of labour relations in multiple ways. The diverse trajectories of these developments have resulted in the deepening of informality today which forms the foundation of flexible labour relations which are central to contemporary accumulation regimes. This book provides a rich mosaic of essays which illustrate different aspects of these changes and their diverse manifestations, in several multiple regional, national and socio-political contexts. The perspectives presented here are a result of several years of tri-continental collaboration within the Agrarian South Network. Some of the papers were published earlier in Agrarian South: Journal of Political Economy, which brought out a special issue on the ‘Labour Questions in the Global South’ in 2017. In this introduction we provide a broad overview of the themes addressed in this volume.