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B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) Sem 5 Labour Law I 2021 Mar Question Paper with Solutions - KSLU

KSLU Solved Question Papers

Labour Law I

Previous Year Question Paper with Solution

B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) · Sem 5

2021 Mar Examination

munotes.in

Mumbai

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.

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The question paper reproduced here is the paper as set by Karnataka State Law University at the 2021 Mar examination.

The Paper as Set

The questions in this volume are the questions asked at the 2021 Mar 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 80 · 20 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.

Read the original question paper

Q1

(a)Explain Collective Bargaining and types, methods of collective bargaining. How the settlements done ?[10]

Answer

For full marks, cover: what collective bargaining is (Karnal Leather: dispute settled "by agreement rather than coercion") and why the law prefers it; its essentials; its types, by level (plant, industry, national) and by approach (distributive, integrative, productivity bargaining); its methods: direct negotiation, negotiation through a recognised bargaining agent (Balmer Lawrie), conciliation, voluntary arbitration (section 10A of the Industrial Disputes Act 1947), and pressure through lawful strikes and lock-outs; how a settlement is made: the two kinds in section 2(p), the formalities, who is bound (section 18), and how long it lasts (section 19); the weight given to a bargained settlement (Herbertsons); the Industrial Relations Code 2020 (section 14); a conclusion.

Meaning

Collective bargaining is the process in which an employer and his workers, acting together through their union, agree on wages and conditions of work. One worker alone has little power against an employer. Bargaining as a group evens the balance.

Karnal Leather Karamchari Sanghatan v. Liberty Footwear Company, (1989) 4 SCC 448. A dispute over the termination of more than two hundred workers led to strikes and lay-offs. The parties then agreed to refer it to an arbitration committee, which ordered reinstatement of 159 workmen. The High Court quashed the award, because the arbitration agreement had not been published in the Gazette under section 10A(3). The Supreme Court held that publication is mandatory, and sent the dispute to the Industrial Tribunal. It described collective bargaining as "a technique by which dispute as to conditions of employment is resolved amicably by agreement rather than coercion". It added: "The Act seeks to achieve social justice on the basis of collective bargaining."

Essentials

Collective. The workers bargain as a group, usually through a union.
Bipartite at its core. The employer and the workers settle their own terms, though a third party may help.
Give and take. Each side gives up something to gain something.

Continuing. It does not end with one agreement. The agreement is applied, reviewed and renegotiated.
Binding result. The outcome is a written agreement that the law enforces.

Types

By level.

Plant or enterprise level. One employer and the union or unions of one establishment. This is the commonest form in India.
Industry level. Employers' associations and unions of one industry in a region, for example all the textile mills of one area.
National level. Agreements covering an industry across the country, such as the bipartite wage settlements in banking.

By approach.

Distributive bargaining. A fixed sum is divided, so one side's gain is the other's loss. Wage bargaining is the usual example.

Integrative bargaining. Both sides look for solutions that help each, such as training or safety schemes.
Productivity bargaining. Higher wages are exchanged for higher output or changed working methods.

Methods

Direct negotiation. The employer and the union meet, put forward demands and counter-offers, and reach terms.
A recognised bargaining agent. Where several unions compete, the law may pick one to bargain for all.

Balmer Lawrie Workers' Union v. Balmer Lawrie & Co. Ltd., AIR 1985 SC 311. After a strike, the employer settled pending disputes with the union recognised under the Maharashtra Act of 1971. A rival union challenged the settlement and the recognised union's sole right to represent the workers. The Supreme Court upheld both. Rival unions making ever higher demands disturb industrial peace. So the union with the largest following should act as the sole bargaining agent.

Conciliation. A conciliation officer or Board helps the parties reach agreement (sections 4, 5, 12 and 13). The officer persuades, but decides nothing.

Voluntary arbitration. If talks fail, the parties may agree in writing to refer the dispute to an arbitrator of their choice (section 10A), as in Karnal Leather.
Pressure. A lawful strike or lock-out is the last means of pressure. It is allowed only within sections 22 and 23.

How a settlement is made

Section 2(p) recognises two kinds of settlement.

In conciliation. The parties agree before a conciliation officer or Board. The officer sends a report to the Government with a memorandum of settlement signed by the parties (section 12(3)). Such a settlement binds all parties to the dispute. It also binds all workmen of the establishment, present and future, even those who did not sign (section 18(3)).
Outside conciliation. The employer and the workmen sign a written agreement in the prescribed manner. A copy goes to an officer authorised by the Government and to the conciliation officer (section 2(p)). It binds only the parties to the agreement (section 18(1)).

Duration (section 19). A settlement runs from the agreed date, or from the date it is signed. It lasts for the agreed period, or six months if none is agreed. After that it continues until either party gives two months' written notice to end it.

Herbertsons Ltd. v. Workmen of Herbertsons Ltd., (1976) 4 SCC 736. While the employer's appeal against an award was pending, it made a settlement with the union that most workers had joined. A rival union opposed it. The Supreme Court upheld the settlement as fair and just, and put it in place of the award. A settlement reached by collective bargaining is entitled to due weight. It cannot be judged by the standards used for adjudication.

Where the law stands now

The 1947 Act was repealed on 21 November 2025 by section 104 of the Industrial Relations Code 2020. Section 14 of the Code now provides for a negotiating union. A union supported by fifty-one per cent or more of the workers on the muster roll is the sole negotiating union. Otherwise a negotiating council is formed from unions with at least twenty per cent support. Settlements are defined in section 2(zi).

Conclusion. Collective bargaining settles conditions of work "by agreement rather than coercion", as Karnal Leather says. It takes place at plant, industry or national level, and may divide gains or create them. It works through direct talks, a recognised agent, conciliation and voluntary arbitration, with lawful strikes as the last resort. A settlement in conciliation binds every workman. One made outside it binds only its parties, and both last as section 19 provides. Courts give such settlements due weight, as Herbertsons holds.

B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) Sem 5 Labour Law I 2021 Mar Question Paper with Solutions

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