KSLU Solved Question Papers
Labour Law I
Previous Year Question Paper with Solution
B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) · Sem 5
2015 Jun Examination
munotes.in
Mumbai
B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) Sem 5 Labour Law I 2015 Jun Question Paper with Solutions
First published on munotes.in on 21 October 2026.
Published by munotes.in, Mumbai.
Model answers written and edited by the munotes.in editorial desk.
Passages from this volume may be quoted, in print, online or by an AI system, with credit: name munotes.in and link to this volume's page. The volume may not be reproduced as a whole. Full terms at munotes.in/content-license.
munotes.in is an independent study resource for students of Karnataka State Law University. It is not affiliated with Karnataka State Law University, and is not endorsed by it.
The University does not publish an official answer key for this paper. The answers in this volume are model answers, written to show how a full-mark answer is built. They are a study aid, not an authority on what an examiner marked.
The question paper reproduced here is the paper as set by Karnataka State Law University at the 2015 Jun examination.
Contents
The questions below are the paper as Karnataka State Law University set it at the 2015 Jun examination, in the order it was set.
MarksPage
MarksPage
The Paper as Set
The questions in this volume are the questions asked at the 2015 Jun examination, reproduced as Karnataka State Law University set them, in the order it set them. Long reading passages are shortened to their first and last lines and our summary; the original paper prints them in full. Only the answers are ours. See the original question paper.
Duration 3 hours · Total marks 100 · 13 questions answered
How to use this volume
Solve the paper first, under exam conditions and against the clock. Then read the answers here and mark your own. Reading a solution before attempting the question feels productive and teaches very little, because recognising an answer is not the same as being able to write one.
Q1What are the principles underlying labour legislations ? Explain.[16]
Answer
For full marks, cover: why labour law departs from freedom of contract (the single worker's weak bargaining position); the principles: social justice (Karnal Leather), social equity, national economy (Excel Wear on balancing), international uniformity (the ILO), and the protective, regulative, welfare and social security aims, each with the Acts that express it; the constitutional base (Articles 14, 19(1)(c), 21, 23, 24 and the Directive Principles in Articles 38, 39, 41, 42, 43, 43A; Concurrent List entries 22 to 24); the principles applied by the courts (Bijay Cotton Mills, People's Union for Democratic Rights, Consumer Education and Research Centre); tensions between the principles; the four Labour Codes; a conclusion.
Why labour law needs its own principles
The ordinary law treats a contract of employment as a bargain between equals. In fact a single worker has little power against an employer: he owns no machines, cannot store his labour, and can be replaced. Left to contract, wages, hours and safety would be what the stronger side dictates. Labour legislation exists to correct that imbalance. Its principles explain why the State steps in and how far it goes.
1. Social justice
The first principle is that the fruits of industry should be shared fairly, and that law should protect the weaker party. Social justice is the reason the State fixes minimum wages, limits hours and protects against dismissal. It is also why industrial disputes go to tribunals that decide by fairness rather than strict contract.
Karnal Leather Karamchari Sanghatan v. Liberty Footwear Company, (1989) 4 SCC 448. In a case on an arbitration award, the Supreme Court called collective bargaining a way of settling disputes "by agreement rather than coercion". It added: "The Act seeks to achieve social justice on the basis of collective bargaining." The Industrial Disputes Act 1947, with its conciliation, arbitration and adjudication, is the clearest expression of this principle.
2. Social equity
Social equity means that the law must adapt to changing conditions. What is fair in one industry or decade may be unfair in another. So labour laws leave much to delegated decisions. The Government revises minimum wages at least every five years, adds employments to schedules, and changes thresholds by notification. Tribunals adjust awards to circumstances, and section 19(4) of the 1947 Act lets an award be shortened if circumstances change.
3. National economy
Labour law must also consider the economy as a whole. Wages and benefits must be affordable if industry is to survive and employment to grow. So the law balances protection against productivity, and the workers' interests against those of employers, consumers and the nation.
Excel Wear v. Union of India, AIR 1979 SC 25. A Bombay garment firm sought permission to close, citing labour unrest, and the Government refused. A Constitution Bench struck down the then section 25-O, because a refusal needed no reasons and had no time limit or review. The right to close is part of the right to carry on business, subject only to reasonable restrictions. Protection of workers must be balanced against the employer's freedom and the economy's needs.
4. International uniformity
Labour standards should not differ widely between nations, or countries with weak protections gain an unfair edge in trade. India was a founder member of the International Labour Organisation in 1919. Its Conventions and Recommendations, and its tripartite method of Government, employers and workers, have shaped Indian laws on hours, wages, social security and industrial relations. The Indian Labour Conference reproduced that tripartite method at home.
5. The four aims of labour legislation
The principles show themselves in four kinds of law.
- Protective. Laws that protect workers from exploitation, such as limits on hours, safety duties and bans on child labour. Examples are the Factories Act 1948 and the Child and Adolescent Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act 1986.
- Regulative. Laws that regulate relations between employers and workers, and between unions. Examples are the Trade Unions Act 1926, the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act 1946 and the Industrial Disputes Act 1947.
- Wage and welfare. Laws that secure fair wages and amenities. Examples are the Payment of Wages Act 1936, the Minimum Wages Act 1948 and the welfare chapter of the Factories Act.
- Social security. Laws that protect against sickness, injury, old age and death. Examples are the Employee's Compensation Act 1923, the Employees' State Insurance Act 1948 and the Employees' Provident Funds Act 1952. The Maternity Benefit Act 1961 and the Payment of Gratuity Act 1972 belong here too.
The constitutional base
- Legislative power. Labour is on the Concurrent List. Entry 22 covers "Trade unions; industrial and labour disputes". Entry 23 covers "Social security and social insurance; employment and unemployment". Entry 24 covers welfare of labour, including conditions of work, provident funds, workmen's compensation, pensions and maternity benefits.
- Directive Principles. The State must secure a just social order (Article 38), and adequate livelihood and equal pay (Article 39). It must provide for the right to work and public assistance (Article 41), and just and humane conditions and maternity relief (Article 42). It must also aim at a living wage (Article 43) and workers' participation in management (Article 43A).
- Fundamental rights. Equality (Article 14), freedom to form unions (Article 19(1)(c)) and the right to life (Article 21). The bans on forced labour (Article 23) and on child labour in hazardous work (Article 24) complete them.
The principles in the courts
Bijay Cotton Mills Ltd. v. State of Ajmer, AIR 1955 SC 33. Textile employers challenged minimum wages fixed for their workers as prohibitive. A Constitution Bench upheld the Minimum Wages Act as a reasonable restriction on trade that furthers Article 43. The employer's inability to pay was irrelevant. Social justice prevailed over freedom of contract.
People's Union for Democratic Rights v. Union of India, AIR 1982 SC 1473. Contractors on the Asiad 1982 projects paid workers below the minimum wage. The Supreme Court held that labour laws bind the principal employer too. Paying less than the minimum wage, where the worker has no choice, is forced labour under Article 23.
Consumer Education and Research Centre v. Union of India, (1995) 3 SCC 42. Asbestos workers were suffering from asbestosis. The Supreme Court held that a worker's right to health and medical aid is part of the right to life under Article 21. It ordered protective measures and compensation.
The principles in one example
Take a worker in a textile mill. Social justice gives him a minimum wage he cannot bargain away, and a forum if he is dismissed unfairly. Social equity lets that minimum be revised as prices rise. The needs of the national economy temper how far the employer can be made to pay, and when he may close. International uniformity, through the ILO, sets the standard for his hours and his rest. Protective, regulative, welfare and social security laws each cover one part of his working life.
Tensions between the principles
The principles can pull apart. Social justice favours higher wages and stronger job security. National economy warns against costs that close industries or deter investment. Excel Wear and the later re-enactment of section 25-O with safeguards show the law searching for a balance. The four Labour Codes, in force from 21 November 2025, restate the same balance. The Code on Wages covers every employee, and the Social Security Code reaches gig and platform workers. At the same time, prior permission for lay-off, retrenchment and closure is now needed only where three hundred or more workers are employed.
Where the law stands now
The Acts named above, except the Child and Adolescent Labour Act, were repealed on 21 November 2025 by the four Labour Codes. These are the Code on Wages 2019, the Industrial Relations Code 2020, the Code on Social Security 2020 and the OSH Code 2020. The underlying principles are unchanged.
Conclusion. Labour legislation rests on social justice, social equity, the needs of the national economy and international uniformity through the ILO. These principles appear in protective, regulative, wage and welfare, and social security laws, made under the Concurrent List and guided by the Directive Principles. The courts have given them force. Karnal Leather names social justice as the aim, and Bijay Cotton Mills puts a minimum wage above freedom of contract. People's Union for Democratic Rights and Consumer Education and Research Centre tie labour standards to Articles 23 and 21. Excel Wear reminds us that protection must be balanced against the economy.
The rest of the answers
The first answer is free. The rest come with the KSLU B.A. LL.B. Semester 5 solved papers.
You have read the question paper and its first answer in full. Buy the solved papers once and you can read every answer of every solved paper in this semester.
Solved papers: ₹499 Already bought it? Sign in
The question paper itself stays free.
Found an error in this volume? Report it and we will check it against the paper.