Synopsis Labour plays a dual role in rural development as both the beneficiary and a major productive resource of development. The structure, size, quality or type, spatial distribution of the labour force can be important in affecting national aggregate supply potential and national development. Most developing countries are characterized by a rapidly growing population and labour force. Absorbing the growing labour force in productive employment is one of the principal challenges of development. Much of this labour force is absorbed in traditional agriculture while an increasing number of people seek employment in non-farm activities.  The majority of population in developing countries lives in the rural areas, which are often described as the home of the impoverished people engaged in agriculture. Hence, labour still continues to be the central issue of analysis and policy-making in developing countries because a large portion of the population in these countries cannot find employment or earn a decent living. The conditions of many people in the rural areas of many parts of the world including India have occupied center stage in development for about more than five decades. The conditions in terms of social, economic, political, organizational and health largely end up as gloomy. While enormous resources and visible efforts have been invested over the years to address the unbalanced development against the rural sector, wide disparities still exist between the urban and rural sector.    The book labour and sustainable development is an attempt to deal with issues relating to labour. It is divided into four sections. About twenty-two eminent scholars/researchers from different background across the world have contributed in this book. The scholars have tried to highlight the issues of labour with futuristic insight too. No doubt, the book will be of great use to policy makers, public analysts, trade union leaders, scholars and students of economics, labour and management.