Unit 14: Industrial Disputes - Practice Quiz

1 What is an industrial dispute?

2 Which issue commonly causes an industrial dispute?

3 What is a strike?

4 What is a lockout?

5 Which relationship is most directly affected by industrial disputes?

6 Which method involves direct discussions between employers and workers to reach an agreement?

7 In conciliation, what does a neutral third party mainly do?

8 Which settlement method allows a neutral person to hear both sides and give a decision?

9 What does adjudication of an industrial dispute involve?

10 Which method usually gives the disputing parties the greatest direct control over the final agreement?

11 What is a trade union?

12 What is a primary objective of a trade union?

13 Who normally represents employees during collective bargaining?

14 Which activity is commonly performed by a trade union?

15 What is meant by union membership?

16 How can the existence of many unions in one organisation weaken workers?

17 Why is low union membership a challenge for trade unions?

18 What is one possible effect of political affiliation on trade unions in India?

19 Why do unions with limited membership fees often face financial difficulties?

20 Why is organising workers in India's informal sector often difficult?

21 Management introduces a new incentive scheme without consulting employees, and the workforce collectively objects because earnings may decline. What is the most accurate classification of this situation?

22 A company temporarily prevents employees from entering the workplace during a conflict but does not permanently close the business. Which action has the company taken?

23 Workers remain at their jobs but deliberately reduce output to pressure management during wage negotiations. Which form of industrial action does this represent?

24 An individual employee is dismissed and raises a dispute about the termination without initially obtaining support from other workers. Under the traditional Indian industrial-disputes framework, why may the matter still be treated as an industrial dispute?

25 A factory experiences recurring disputes because promotion criteria are unclear and supervisors apply them inconsistently. Which preventive response is most appropriate?

26 A neutral government-appointed officer meets management and union representatives, helps them communicate, and proposes possible terms without imposing a decision. Which method is being used?

27 Management and a union jointly choose an independent expert and agree in advance to accept that expert's decision on a bonus dispute. Which settlement method does this describe?

28 Conciliation fails in a dispute involving wages and allowances, after which the appropriate government refers the matter to a tribunal for a binding determination. This is an example of:

29 A union and management directly exchange proposals and finally sign an agreement revising wages and working hours. Which method produced the settlement?

30 Employees want disputes to be resolved quickly while preserving their working relationship with management. Which approach should ordinarily be attempted before formal adjudication?

31 A joint body of employer and employee representatives discusses everyday sources of friction and promotes cooperation within an establishment. Which mechanism best fits this role?

32 During conciliation, the officer suggests a compromise that the union considers unacceptable. What is the union generally entitled to do?

33 An employer negotiates separately with hundreds of employees, producing inconsistent wage demands. How can a trade union most directly improve this process?

34 A union helps an employee present evidence during a disciplinary hearing and ensures that the agreed procedure is followed. Which union function is illustrated?

35 A registered union claims that registration automatically forces every employer to accept it as the sole bargaining agent. Which assessment is most accurate?

36 Employees performing the same skilled occupation organize across several different industries. Which type of union are they most likely forming?

37 Union dues are deducted from consenting employees' wages by the employer and transferred to the union. What is this arrangement called?

38 Three unions in one factory compete for members and submit conflicting demands to management. Which trade-union challenge is most clearly illustrated?

39 A union's decisions increasingly follow the priorities of an affiliated political party rather than the immediate workplace concerns of its members. What challenge does this demonstrate?

40 A platform-based delivery workforce is geographically dispersed, frequently changes jobs, and lacks a common workplace. Which union strategy best addresses the resulting organizing challenge?

41 A factory dismisses one workman for alleged misconduct. No union or other workman supports his challenge. Under the classic Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 framework, which conclusion is most accurate?

42 Workmen collectively demand reinstatement of a discharged senior manager who was not a workman and whose duties had no substantial connection with theirs. Which principle most strongly weakens the claim that this is an industrial dispute?

43 An employer shuts a unit, removes finished goods, but retains machinery and repeatedly states that production will resume after workers accept revised shifts. How should the stoppage most plausibly be classified?

44 A union threatens industrial action if a proposed unilateral transfer policy is implemented next month. Management argues that no industrial dispute exists because no transfer has yet occurred. Which response is legally strongest?

45 An employer calls the elimination of 40 permanent positions a simple contractual termination, while retaining the business and replacing the work through automation. Which issue is most important in identifying retrenchment?

46 During statutory conciliation, a recognized union and employer sign a settlement covering all workers in the establishment. A newly hired worker later rejects it because she was neither employed nor represented when it was signed. What is the strongest conclusion?

47 An employer and union want a neutral outsider chosen by them, rather than a government-selected adjudicator, to issue a binding decision before the dispute is referred to a tribunal. Which mechanism best fits?

48 Conciliation ends without agreement, and the officer submits a failure report. Which statement best describes the immediate legal effect under the traditional statutory framework?

49 The central issue is whether a certified standing order permits suspension pending an internal inquiry. Under the classic division of adjudicatory jurisdiction, which forum is principally suited to this issue?

50 After adjudication, one party argues that the award is ineffective because it never consented to the tribunal's conclusion. Which distinction best resolves the argument?

51 A newly registered trade union demands exclusive bargaining status, claiming that registration conclusively proves majority support. Which analysis is most accurate?

52 Union officials organize peaceful inducement of contractual work stoppage and separately authorize destruction of factory equipment. Which statement best distinguishes the relevant statutory immunities?

53 All employees benefit from a union-negotiated wage increase, but many decline membership because they expect members to bear bargaining costs. Which institutional problem does this illustrate?

54 Electricians across several industries seek bargaining focused on occupational certification, while all workers within one automobile plant seek bargaining around plant-wide conditions. Which structural comparison is correct?

55 Three unions claim bargaining authority: one has the largest verified membership, one won the latest strike ballot, and one is oldest. Which criterion most directly supports representative legitimacy?

56 A union attempts to organize home-based workers whose employers change frequently, workplaces are dispersed, and employment records are incomplete. Which challenge most directly obstructs conventional union organization?

57 Several unions in one enterprise are affiliated with rival political parties and repeatedly reject joint bargaining despite having nearly identical wage demands. What is the most likely bargaining consequence?

58 A principal company outsources core operations through rotating contractors. Workers remain at the same site, but their formal employers change annually. Which union challenge is most structurally significant?

59 A platform changes pay through opaque algorithms and classifies service providers as independent contractors. Which union strategy best addresses both informational and representational barriers?

60 A small union relies on irregular cash dues, has no trained research staff, and negotiates with a multinational employer using detailed productivity analytics. Which reform most directly reduces this capability gap?