KSLU Solved Question Papers
Labour Law I
Previous Year Question Paper with Solution
B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) · Sem 5
2024 Aug Examination
munotes.in
Mumbai
B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) Sem 5 Labour Law I 2024 Aug 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 2024 Aug examination.
Contents
The questions below are the paper as Karnataka State Law University set it at the 2024 Aug examination, in the order it was set.
MarksPage
MarksPage
The Paper as Set
The questions in this volume are the questions asked at the 2024 Aug 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
Instructions printed on the paper
- N.B. (1) Answer all five Units. (2) One essay type and one short note/problem is compulsory from each Unit. (3) Figures to the right indicate marks. (4) Answers should be written either in English or Kannada completely.
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.
Q1
Unit I
(a)Explain collective bargaining and its types.[10]
Answer
For full marks, cover: the meaning of collective bargaining and the stages of the process; its types classified three ways: by level (plant, industry, national), by the parties (single-employer and multi-employer), and by approach (distributive, integrative, productivity and concession bargaining, with the Walton and McKersie analysis); the legal form the result takes (settlement, sections 2(p), 18 and 19 of the Industrial Disputes Act 1947); cases illustrating plant-level and national-level bargaining (Herbertsons, LIC v. D.J. Bahadur) and the bargaining agent (Balmer Lawrie); the Industrial Relations Code 2020; a conclusion.
Meaning
Collective bargaining is the process by which employers and unions representing the workers negotiate the terms and conditions of employment. The aim is a written agreement binding both sides for a period.
The stages of the process
- Preparation. The union frames a charter of demands; the employer studies its costs and capacity.
- Negotiation. The two sides meet, exchange proposals, argue and make concessions.
- Agreement. The terms agreed are written down and signed.
- Administration. The agreement is applied day to day, and disputes about its meaning are resolved.
Types by level
- Plant or enterprise level. One employer bargains with the union or unions of one establishment. Terms suit that plant's conditions. Most Indian settlements are of this kind.
- Industry level. Employers in an industry, often through their association, bargain with a federation of unions for the whole industry in a region or the country. In Ahmedabad, for example, the clerks' wages in the textile mills were settled by one agreement. It was made between the Ahmedabad Mill Owners' Association and the Textile Labour Association. The Supreme Court considered that agreement in Shri Ambica Mills Co. Ltd. v. S.B. Bhatt, AIR 1961 SC 970.
- National level. Bargaining for all the employees of a national organisation, or across an entire sector, sets uniform terms nationwide.
Types by the parties
- Single-employer bargaining. One employer and its workers' union.
- Multi-employer bargaining. Several employers bargain together, through an association, with a union or federation. It prevents unions from playing one employer against another, and gives small employers strength.
Types by approach
The classic analysis of Walton and McKersie distinguishes four processes that occur in negotiations.
- Distributive bargaining. The parties divide a fixed amount; one side's gain is the other's loss. Wage bargaining is typical. It is also called conjunctive bargaining.
- Integrative bargaining. The parties look for solutions that benefit both, such as better safety or training. It is also called co-operative bargaining.
- Attitudinal structuring. Each side tries to shape the other's attitudes, such as trust or hostility, to build a better working relationship.
- Intra-organisational bargaining. Each negotiating team bargains within its own side to bring its members' expectations into line with what is achievable.
Two further forms are common in practice.
- Productivity bargaining. Higher wages are linked to higher productivity, such as new methods or targets.
- Concession bargaining. In a crisis, the union accepts cuts or a freeze to save jobs or the business.
The legal form of the result
In Indian law a collective agreement takes effect as a "settlement" (section 2(p)). One reached in conciliation binds all present and future workmen of the establishment (section 18(3)). One reached by direct negotiation, signed and copied to the officers as prescribed, binds the parties to it (section 18(1)). It lasts for the agreed period, or six months, and then until two months after notice (section 19).
The cases
Herbertsons Ltd. v. Workmen of Herbertsons Ltd., (1976) 4 SCC 736. A plant-level settlement was made with the union most workers had joined, while an appeal against an award was pending. A small rival union opposed it. The Supreme Court upheld it as fair and just and substituted it for the award. A settlement reached by collective bargaining deserves weight. It must not be judged by the standards used for adjudication.
Life Insurance Corporation of India v. D.J. Bahadur, (1981) 1 SCC 315. Bonus for the Corporation's employees across the country was governed by settlements. The Supreme Court held that a settlement binds for its period and continues after it until ended by notice. Even then its terms govern until a new settlement or award replaces them. The case shows national-level bargaining producing terms with lasting force.
Balmer Lawrie Workers' Union v. Balmer Lawrie & Co. Ltd., AIR 1985 SC 311. A rival union challenged a Maharashtra law making the recognised union the sole representative of the workmen. The Supreme Court dismissed the appeal. It explained that recognition of the largest union as sole bargaining agent answers the rivalry of many unions. Bargaining of any type needs a clear agent on the workers' side.
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 requires recognition of a negotiating union with fifty-one per cent support. Failing that, a negotiating council is formed of unions with twenty per cent support. Sections 57 and 58 keep the binding effect and duration of settlements. Section 27 lets the Central and State Governments recognise Central and State trade unions or federations, for purposes they prescribe.
Conclusion. Collective bargaining is negotiation between employers and organised workers ending in a binding settlement. By level it may be plant, industry or national; by parties single-employer or multi-employer. By approach it may be distributive, integrative or attitudinal, with internal bargaining on each side, and in practice productivity or concession bargaining. The courts give its settlements weight and lasting force, as Herbertsons and D.J. Bahadur show.
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.