The Trade Disputes Act of 1929 provided for (UPSC Prelims 2017)

Question

The correct answer is [D] a system of tribunals and a ban on strikes. The Trade Disputes Act (TDA) of 1929 was a restrictive piece of legislation enacted by the British colonial government to curb the growing influence of the trade union movement and communist ideology in India.

Courts and Tribunals (Statement D – Correct): The Act provided for the establishment of Courts of Inquiry and Conciliation Boards for the settlement of industrial disputes. However, the primary objective was to control labor unrest rather than empower workers.
Restriction on Strikes: Most significantly, the Act made strikes and lockouts illegal in public utility services (such as railways, posts, and water supply) unless a one-month advance notice was given. It also prohibited strikes that had any objective other than the furtherance of a trade dispute within the specific industry or those intended to coerce the government.
Worker Participation (Statement A – Incorrect): This concept (linked to Article 43A of the modern Constitution) was entirely absent from British colonial labor laws, which focused on regulation and control.
Management Powers (Statement B – Incorrect): While the Act favored the state\'s control, it didn\'t explicitly grant \"arbitrary powers to management\" but rather used legal machinery (Tribunals) to stifle labor\'s bargaining power.
British Court Intervention (Statement C – Incorrect): The Act focused on local ad-hoc boards and courts of inquiry within the Indian administration rather than referring disputes to the British judiciary in London.

Historical Context: The TDA 1929 was passed alongside the controversial Public Safety Bill. It was in protest against these two \"repressive\" measures that Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt threw non-lethal bombs into the Central Legislative Assembly in April 1929, famously declaring they did so \"to make the deaf hear.\"

GKToday Admin · Accepted Answer

a system of tribunals and a ban on strikes. The correct answer is [D] a system of tribunals and a ban on strikes. The Trade Disputes Act (TDA) of 1929 was a restrictive piece of legislation enacted by the British colonial government to curb the growing influence of the trade union movement and communist ideology in India.

Courts and Tribunals (Statement D – Correct): The Act provided for the establishment of Courts of Inquiry and Conciliation Boards for the settlement of industrial disputes. However, the primary objective was to control labor unrest rather than empower workers.
Restriction on Strikes: Most significantly, the Act made strikes and lockouts illegal in public utility services (such as railways, posts, and water supply) unless a one-month advance notice was given. It also prohibited strikes that had any objective other than the furtherance of a trade dispute within the specific industry or those intended to coerce the government.
Worker Participation (Statement A – Incorrect): This concept (linked to Article 43A of the modern Constitution) was entirely absent from British colonial labor laws, which focused on regulation and control.
Management Powers (Statement B – Incorrect): While the Act favored the state\'s control, it didn\'t explicitly grant \"arbitrary powers to management\" but rather used legal machinery (Tribunals) to stifle labor\'s bargaining power.
British Court Intervention (Statement C – Incorrect): The Act focused on local ad-hoc boards and courts of inquiry within the Indian administration rather than referring disputes to the British judiciary in London.

Historical Context: The TDA 1929 was passed alongside the controversial Public Safety Bill. It was in protest against these two \"repressive\" measures that Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt threw non-lethal bombs into the Central Legislative Assembly in April 1929, famously declaring they did so \"to make the deaf hear.\"

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