Labour Law I (Industrial Relations) MCQs

Sample Labour Law I (Industrial Relations) MCQs with answers

10 of the 100 questions, with the answer and explanation. Open a question to try it yourself first.

1. Q1. Which international organisation brings together governments, employers and workers to promote fair working conditions and better relations between workers and employers?

   1. (A) World Trade Organization (WTO)
   2. (B) World Health Organization (WHO)
   3. (C) International Monetary Fund (IMF)
   4. (D) International Labour Organization (ILO)
   Show answer and explanation

   Answer: (D) International Labour Organization (ILO)

   The International Labour Organization (ILO) is an international body that brings governments, employers and workers together to promote fair working conditions, and it works to improve industrial relations. The WTO is the tempting choice because it also deals with international economic matters, but it is concerned with trade between countries, not with the relationship between workers and employers.

2. Q2. In People's Union for Democratic Rights v. Union of India (the Asiad case), construction workers for the Asiad Games were made to work under unfair conditions. Forcing a person to work under compulsion or without proper payment was held to violate which Article of the Constitution?

   1. (A) Article 24
   2. (B) Article 17
   3. (C) Article 23
   4. (D) Article 19(1)(g)
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   Answer: (C) Article 23

   The Supreme Court ruled that forcing anyone to work without proper payment or under compulsion is against Article 23, which prohibits forced labour. Article 24 is the tempting wrong answer because it is also a labour-related Fundamental Right, but it deals with children below 14 working in dangerous jobs, not with forced labour.

   Provision: Article 23, Constitution of India

3. Q3. Pavement dwellers in Bombay challenged their eviction on the ground that it would take away their means of earning a living. In which case did the Supreme Court hold that the right to life under Article 21 includes the right to livelihood?

   1. (A) Randhir Singh v. Union of India
   2. (B) Kameshwar Prasad v. State of Bihar
   3. (C) Olga Tellis v. Bombay Municipal Corporation
   4. (D) Dharangadhara Chemical Works Ltd. v. State of Saurashtra
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   Answer: (C) Olga Tellis v. Bombay Municipal Corporation

   In Olga Tellis v. Bombay Municipal Corporation, the Supreme Court held that the right to life includes the right to livelihood, so eviction without proper arrangements would violate the pavement dwellers' rights. Randhir Singh is the tempting choice because it is also a constitutional case on workers' rights, but it dealt with equal pay for equal work, not livelihood under Article 21.

   Provision: Article 21, Constitution of India

4. Q4. Renu's name is on the muster roll of a spinning mill. Because of a shortage of raw materials, the mill is unable to give her any work for a week, but she is not removed from service. What is this situation called in labour law?

   1. (A) Lay-off
   2. (B) Retrenchment
   3. (C) Closure
   4. (D) Lockout
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   Answer: (A) Lay-off

   Lay-off is the employer's failure, refusal or inability to give work to a worker whose name is on the muster roll, for reasons such as a shortage of coal, power or raw materials. Retrenchment is the tempting wrong answer, but it means termination of service, whereas in a lay-off the worker's name stays on the muster roll.

   Provision: Section 2(t), Industrial Relations Code, 2020 (earlier Section 2(kkk), Industrial Disputes Act, 1947)

5. Q5. Under Section 67 of the Industrial Relations Code, 2020 (earlier Section 25C of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947), a laid-off worker who has completed at least one year of continuous service is entitled to lay-off compensation at what rate?

   1. (A) The full basic wages and dearness allowance for the period of lay-off
   2. (B) 25% of the basic wages, without any dearness allowance
   3. (C) 50% of the basic wages and dearness allowance for the period of lay-off
   4. (D) 15 days' average pay for every completed year of service
   Show answer and explanation

   Answer: (C) 50% of the basic wages and dearness allowance for the period of lay-off

   A worker with at least one year of service who is laid off is entitled to 50% of the basic wages and dearness allowance for the period of lay-off. The 15 days' average pay option is tempting because it is the formula used for compensation on closure, but lay-off compensation is worked out as half of the basic wages and dearness allowance for the days of lay-off.

   Provision: Section 67, Industrial Relations Code, 2020 (earlier Section 25C, Industrial Disputes Act, 1947)

6. Q6. Under the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, which provision defines 'workman'?

   1. (A) Section 2(j)
   2. (B) Section 2(k)
   3. (C) Section 2(oo)
   4. (D) Section 2(s)
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   Answer: (D) Section 2(s)

   Section 2(s) defines 'workman' as any person, including an apprentice, employed in any industry to do manual, unskilled, skilled, technical, operational, clerical or supervisory work. Section 2(j) is the tempting option, but it defines 'industry', not the person working in it; Section 2(k) defines 'industrial dispute' and Section 2(oo) defines 'retrenchment'. The matching term in the Industrial Relations Code, 2020 is 'worker' in Section 2(zr).

   Provision: Section 2(s), Industrial Disputes Act, 1947

7. Q7. The 'triple test' for deciding whether an activity is an 'industry' requires systematic activity, cooperation between employer and employees, and:

   1. (A) a motive to earn profit from the activity
   2. (B) the aim of producing goods or services
   3. (C) investment of capital in the activity
   4. (D) employment of at least 20 persons
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   Answer: (B) the aim of producing goods or services

   The three elements of the triple test are systematic activity, cooperation between employer and employees, and the production or supply of goods or services. Profit motive is the tempting option, but it is not required; Section 2(p) of the IR Code, 2020 also covers an activity whether or not capital is invested or it is carried on for gain or profit.

   Provision: Section 2(j), Industrial Disputes Act, 1947

8. Q8. Under Section 2(q) of the Industrial Relations Code, 2020 (Section 2(k) of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947), an 'industrial dispute' can arise between:

   1. (A) employers and workers only
   2. (B) workers and the appropriate Government only
   3. (C) a registered trade union and an employer only
   4. (D) employers and employers, employers and workers, or workers and workers
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   Answer: (D) employers and employers, employers and workers, or workers and workers

   The definition covers three combinations: employers and employers, employers and workers, and workers and workers, provided the dispute is connected with employment, non-employment, terms of employment or conditions of labour. The first option is tempting but too narrow, because disputes between two employers or between two groups of workers are also included.

   Provision: Section 2(q), Industrial Relations Code, 2020; Section 2(k), Industrial Disputes Act, 1947

9. Q9. Armaan, a dismissed workman, dies while his industrial dispute is pending before the Labour Court. According to Rameshwar Manjhi v. Management of Sangramgarh Colliery (1994), what happens to the dispute?

   1. (A) It abates automatically on his death.
   2. (B) It ends unless the employer agrees to continue it.
   3. (C) It continues despite his death.
   4. (D) It must be withdrawn and freshly raised by a trade union.
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   Answer: (C) It continues despite his death.

   Rameshwar Manjhi holds that an industrial dispute does not come to an end because the workman dies while it is pending; the proceedings continue. The option of automatic abatement is tempting because personal claims often end with death, but the Court held that the dispute survives the workman's death.

10. Q10. Under Section 3 of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, the appropriate Government may require a Works Committee in an industrial establishment that employs:

    1. (A) 20 or more workmen on any day in the preceding 12 months
    2. (B) 100 or more workmen on any day in the preceding 12 months
    3. (C) 300 or more workmen on any day in the preceding 12 months
    4. (D) 50 or more workmen throughout the preceding 12 months
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    Answer: (B) 100 or more workmen on any day in the preceding 12 months

    A Works Committee can be required where 100 or more workmen are employed, or have been employed on any day in the preceding 12 months; Section 3 of the IR Code, 2020 keeps the same threshold. The figure of 20 is tempting because it is the threshold for a Grievance Redressal Committee under the IR Code, not for a Works Committee.

    Provision: Section 3, Industrial Disputes Act, 1947; Section 3, Industrial Relations Code, 2020