Q15 (IAS/2017) History & Culture › National Movement (1857–1947) › Labour movement and legislation Official Key

The Trade Disputes Act of 1929 provided for

the participation of workers in the management of industries.

arbitrary powers to the management to quell industrial disputes.

an intervention by the British Court in the event of a trade dispute.

a system of tribunals and a ban on strikes.

Result

Your answer: — · Correct: D

Explanation

The Trade Disputes Act (TDA) of 1929 made compulsory the appointment of Courts of Inquiry and Consultation Boards for settling industrial disputes[2], establishing a tribunal system for dispute resolution. Additionally, the Act made illegal strikes in public utility services like posts, railways, water and electricity, unless each individual worker planning to go on strike gave an advance notice of one month to the administration[2], effectively imposing significant restrictions on strikes. Later amendments between 1947 and 1950 further strengthened this framework by providing for the appointment of conciliation officers and the constitution of the Industrial Court of Arbitration[4]. The Act did not provide for worker participation in management (Option A), nor did it grant arbitrary powers to management (Option B), nor did it involve British Court intervention (Option C). Therefore, Option D correctly identifies both key features of the TDA 1929: a tribunal system and a ban/restriction on strikes.

Sources

[1] Rajiv Ahir. A Brief History of Modern India (2019 ed.). SPECTRUM. > Chapter 32: The Movement of the Working Class > Late 1920s > p. 588
[2] Rajiv Ahir. A Brief History of Modern India (2019 ed.). SPECTRUM. > Chapter 32: The Movement of the Working Class > Late 1920s > p. 588
[3] https://webapps.ilo.org/public/libdoc/ilo/1953/53B09_5_engl.pdf
[4] https://webapps.ilo.org/public/libdoc/ilo/1953/53B09_5_engl.pdf

How others answered

Each bar shows the % of students who chose that option. Green bar = correct answer, blue outline = your choice.

Community Performance

Out of everyone who attempted this question.

29%

got it right

Web / Current Affairs

Online pages / news items supporting the statement

Web source

Presence: 1/5

"The nucleus of the Act is the Trade Disputes Act of 1929 but important amendments have been made to it between 19^7 a^d 1950 on the lines of the Indian Industrial Disputes Act 19^7. These amendments relate mainly to the appointment of concilia-tion officers and the constitution of the Industrial Court of Arbitration whose decisions"

Why this source?

Explicitly describes the Trade Disputes Act of 1929 as the nucleus for later legislation and identifies its amendments as relating to conciliation officers and an Industrial Court of Arbitration.
Shows the Act's focus was on dispute-prevention and settlement machinery rather than worker participation in management.

Web source

Presence: 1/5

"However, no provision was made for any machinery for settlement of disputes. This Act was replaced by the Trade Disputes Act, 1929 in which provision for the"

Why this source?

Contrasts the 1920 Act (which lacked machinery for settlement) with the Trade Disputes Act, 1929, indicating the 1929 Act introduced machinery for settlement of disputes.
This emphasis on settlement machinery implies the Act provided dispute-resolution institutions rather than provisions for worker participation in management.

Web source

Presence: 1/5

"Section 20 of the Trade Disputes Act which renders him liable to a fine which may extend to 1,000 rupees for every day on which the terms of the award are not carried out."

Why this source?

Describes enforcement mechanisms (Section 20 fines) for carrying out awards under the Trade Disputes Act, indicating the Act created adjudicatory and enforcement provisions.
Again indicates the Act's concerns were awards, enforcement and dispute settlement rather than instituting worker participation in management.

Indirect textbook clues (5)

How books hint at the answer

Rajiv Ahir. A Brief History of Modern India (2019 ed.). SPECTRUM. > Chapter 32: The Movement of the Working Class > Late 1920s > p. 588

Strength: 5/5

“A strong communist influence on the movement lent a militant and revolutionary content to it. In 1928 there was a six-month-long strike in Bombay Textile Mills led by the Girni Kamgar Union. The whole of 1928 witnessed unprecedented industrial unrest. This period also saw the crystallisation of various communist groups, with leaders like S.A. Dange, Muzaffar Ahmed, P.C. Joshi, Sohan Singh Joshi etc. Alarmed at the increasing strength of the trade union movement under extremist influence, the government resorted to legislative restrictions. It passed the Public Safety Ordinance (1929) and the Trade Disputes Act (TDA), 1929.”

Why relevant

States the government passed the Trade Disputes Act (1929) as a legislative restriction in response to militant trade-union activity, implying a repressive intent toward unions rather than empowerment.

How to extend

A student could infer that a law enacted to curb union power is unlikely to contain explicit provisions promoting worker participation in management and should check the Act's text or contemporary commentary for any management-participation clauses.

History , class XII (Tamilnadu state board 2024 ed.) > Chapter 5: Period of Radicalism in Anti-imperialist Struggles > Government Repression > p. 63

Strength: 5/5

“Alarmed by this wave of strikes and the spread of communist activities, the British Government brought two draconian Acts - the Trade Disputes Act, 1928 and the Public Safety Bill, 1928. These Acts armed the government with powers to curtail civil liberties in general and suppress the trade union activities in particular. The government was worried about the strong communist influence among the workers and peasants. K.F. Nariman M.C. Chagla. Determined to wipe out the radical movement, the government resorted to several repressive measures. They arrested 32 leading activists of the Communist Party, from different parts of British India like Bombay, Calcutta, Punjab, Poona and United Provinces.”

Why relevant

Describes the Trade Disputes Act (called here 1928) as 'draconian' and designed to curtail civil liberties and suppress trade union activities, again suggesting the Act limited workers' collective power.

How to extend

Use this characterization to look for specific prohibitions or limitations in the Act (e.g., restriction of strikes or union rights) that would be incompatible with formal worker-management participation mechanisms.

Indian Polity, M. Laxmikanth(7th ed.) > Chapter 86: Pressure Groups > fl i Trade Unions > p. 602

Strength: 3/5

“The trade unions voice the demands of the industrial workers. They are also known as labour groups. A peculiar feature of trade unions in India is that they are associated either directly or indirectly with different political parties. They include: • (i) All-India Trade Union Congress (AITUC)-affiliated to CPI • (ii) Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC)-affiliated to the Congress • (iii) Hind Mazdoor Sabha (HMS)-affiliated to the Socialists • (iv) Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) affilia ted to the CPM • (v) Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS) affiliated to the BJP First Trade Union in India: All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) was founded in 1920 with Lajpat Rai as its first President.”

Why relevant

Explains trade unions' role as labour pressure groups and their political affiliations, indicating that worker representation typically operates via unions rather than statutory seats on management boards.

How to extend

A student could compare whether the period's legislation favored suppression of unions (per [3],[6]) rather than creating alternate, statutory worker-representation channels in management.

Indian Economy, Vivek Singh (7th ed. 2023-24) > Chapter 8: Inclusive growth and issues > Issues with the current laws and impact on economy: > p. 260

Strength: 3/5

“The Industrial Disputes Act 1947 (ID Act) states that an employer cannot layoff or retrenches any worker or close down operations of the establishment without prior permission from the appropriate government. According to employers and economists it has been a major bottleneck of employment generation in the organized sector. The ID Act (through an amendment made in mid 1980s) requires that any firm employing more than 100 workers needs to get permission from the state government before retrenching workers. In view of these rigidities, the employers have been resorting to technology up-gradation with the intention of keeping their workforce below 100.”

Why relevant

Describes later labour law (Industrial Disputes Act, 1947) imposing government control over layoffs/retrenchments, showing a pattern where labour regulation took the form of state control rather than formal worker participation in management.

How to extend

Extend this pattern by checking whether earlier 1929 legislation also followed a pattern of state/owner control instead of instituting worker-management participation rights.

Rajiv Ahir. A Brief History of Modern India (2019 ed.). SPECTRUM. > Chapter 21: Congress Rule in Provinces > Congress Rule in Provinces ✫ 415 > p. 415

Strength: 2/5

“● Administrative work by Indians further weakened the myth that Indians were not fit to rule. The Congress ministries resigned in October 1939 after the outbreak of the Second World War. The huge Congress victory in the elections had aroused the hopes of the industrial working class; there was increased militancy and industrial unrest in Bombay, Gujarat, the United Provinces and Bengal at a time when the Congress was drawn into a closer friendship with Indian capitalists. This resulted in what appeared to be an anti-labour shift in Congress attitudes that led to the Bombay Traders Disputes Act in 1938.”

Why relevant

Notes an 'anti-labour shift' in politics that produced legislation (Bombay Traders Disputes Act 1938) unsympathetic to workers, supporting the broader context that interwar legislation tended to restrict rather than empower labour in management.

How to extend

Use the political trend to hypothesize that the 1929 Act likely did not create pro-participation provisions and then verify by consulting the Act's text or historical legislative debates.

Question map

The Trade Disputes Act of 1929 provided for

Explanation

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