Before the 2023 cost-of-living crisis, some believed that the Covid-19 pandemic had ushered in a new era of state intervention and the end of neoliberalism. This was a forlorn hope, as governments intervened precisely to preserve the status quo. Growing levels of income and wage inequality, the precaritization of many sections of the labour force and proletarianization of many in the highly unionised professional middle classes have made labour unions as salient as ever.

This handbook assembles an array of experts to critically engage with the debates and discussions about the role and purpose of unions and the many means by which they seek to attain them. The book provides insights into how challenges and problems may be surmounted and aims to fuse the understanding of the past and present to provide a general guide for shaping the future.