UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — British industrial mission to America

Q1. With reference to the five-member British Industrial Delegation to the United States and Canada (1926–27) headed by Sir William Mackenzie, consider the following components of its composition: 1. Two nominees of the trade unions 2. Two nominees of the employers 3. An official of the United Kingdom's Ministry of Labour accompanying the delegation 4. A serving judge of the Industrial Court nominated by the Lord Chancellor as joint chairman Which of the above is/are NOT correct?

  1. Two nominees of the trade unions
  2. Two nominees of the employers
  3. An official of the United Kingdom's Ministry of Labour accompanying the delegation
  4. A serving judge of the Industrial Court nominated by the Lord Chancellor as joint chairman
  • A. 1 and 2
  • B. 2 and 3
  • C. 3 and 4
  • D. 4 only

Q2. Consider the following statements comparing the Mackenzie-led British Industrial Delegation (1926–27) with the tripartite architecture of the International Labour Organization: 1. The Delegation gave the trade union and employer sides an equal number of nominees, whereas in the ILO Governing Body the government group holds twice as many titular seats as the employers' group. 2. Tripartite consultation in the ILO framework was given treaty form by a Convention adopted in the same decade in which the Delegation travelled. 3. Unlike the ILO, which is a tripartite agency within the United Nations system, the Delegation was a body dispatched on the sanction of the British Government alone. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. The Delegation gave the trade union and employer sides an equal number of nominees, whereas in the ILO Governing Body the government group holds twice as many titular seats as the employers' group.
  2. Tripartite consultation in the ILO framework was given treaty form by a Convention adopted in the same decade in which the Delegation travelled.
  3. Unlike the ILO, which is a tripartite agency within the United Nations system, the Delegation was a body dispatched on the sanction of the British Government alone.
  • A. 1 only
  • B. 1 and 2 only
  • C. 1 and 3 only
  • D. 2 and 3 only

Q3. The event of May 1926 that exposed Britain's employer–union friction and prompted study missions to America is best described as which one of the following?

  • A. A nine-month stoppage by the Miners' Federation alone, launched after the Industrial Court declined arbitration
  • B. A lock-out of railway and transport workers declared by employers after wage awards were rejected
  • C. A nine-day stoppage called by the Trades Union Congress in sympathy with coal miners in dispute with the mine owners
  • D. A stoppage of essential public services organised by volunteers under a state of emergency declared by Stanley Baldwin

Q4. Consider the following statements about the British General Strike of 1926: 1. It was called by the Trades Union Congress in support of coal miners who were in dispute with the mine owners. 2. Its immediate trigger lay in a collapse of domestic coal prices. 3. It completely paralysed all essential public services, which compelled the government to negotiate before the strike was called off. 4. It continued for nine months and ended only when Parliament enacted the Trade Disputes and Trade Unions Act. Which of the above statements is/are NOT correct?

  1. It was called by the Trades Union Congress in support of coal miners who were in dispute with the mine owners.
  2. Its immediate trigger lay in a collapse of domestic coal prices.
  3. It completely paralysed all essential public services, which compelled the government to negotiate before the strike was called off.
  4. It continued for nine months and ended only when Parliament enacted the Trade Disputes and Trade Unions Act.
  • A. 3 and 4 only
  • B. 3 only
  • C. 1 and 2 only
  • D. 1, 3 and 4

Q5. As an industrial paradigm, 'Fordism' — the American model that interwar British industry sought to study — is best defined as which one of the following?

  • A. Flexible production of differentiated goods in small batches, using general-purpose machinery and multi-skilled labour
  • B. Mass production of standardized goods on a moving assembly line, using dedicated machinery and semi-skilled labour
  • C. Measurement of each worker's motions to fix piece-rates scientifically, without altering the physical layout of the plant
  • D. Manufacture of standardized goods from interchangeable parts in dispersed workshops coordinated by merchant capital

Q6. Consider the following conditions: 1. Existence of a market large enough to justify a large investment 2. A product design that can use standardized parts and processes 3. Division of labour into simple, short, repetitive steps 4. Reliance on general-purpose tools that can be readily switched between different products Which of the above is/are correctly identified as requirements for the mass production of a commodity?

  1. Existence of a market large enough to justify a large investment
  2. A product design that can use standardized parts and processes
  3. Division of labour into simple, short, repetitive steps
  4. Reliance on general-purpose tools that can be readily switched between different products
  • A. 1, 2 and 3
  • B. 1 and 4 only
  • C. 2, 3 and 4
  • D. 1, 2, 3 and 4

Q7. Consider the following particulars associated with Sir William Mackenzie, later the 1st Baron Amulree: 1. President of the Industrial Court, 1919–1926 2. Chairman of the National Wages Board for Railways, 1920–1926 3. Chairman of the Industrial Delegation to Canada and the United States, 1926–27 4. Author of 'Industrial Arbitration in Great Britain', published in 1919, the year the Industrial Court was created Which of the above is/are NOT correct?

  1. President of the Industrial Court, 1919–1926
  2. Chairman of the National Wages Board for Railways, 1920–1926
  3. Chairman of the Industrial Delegation to Canada and the United States, 1926–27
  4. Author of 'Industrial Arbitration in Great Britain', published in 1919, the year the Industrial Court was created
  • A. 2 and 4
  • B. 4 only
  • C. 1 and 3
  • D. 2, 3 and 4

Q8. The permanent arbitration tribunal over which Sir William Mackenzie presided from 1919 to 1926 was created by which statute, and worked under which department of the British Government?

  • A. The Trade Disputes Act, 1906, under the Board of Trade, which had handled labour conciliation from 1896
  • B. The Conciliation Act, 1896, under the Ministry of Labour, which had been established in 1919
  • C. The Industrial Courts Act, 1919, under the Ministry of Labour, which had been established in 1916
  • D. The Trade Disputes and Trade Unions Act, 1927, under the Home Office, which supervised emergency powers

Q9. Under the Trade Unions Act, 1926, what exactly does the certificate granted by the Registrar of Trade Unions confer on a trade union?

  • A. A binding duty on every employer in that industry to treat the union as the sole bargaining agent
  • B. Complete immunity from all civil and criminal proceedings for the union and each of its office-bearers
  • C. An exclusive right to represent all workmen of the establishment, irrespective of their membership
  • D. Legal status with specified statutory immunities, but not recognition by the employer

Q10. The Trade Unions Act, 1926 is administered at the Union level by which ministry, and registration under it is effected by which authority?

  • A. The Ministry of Corporate Affairs, with registration effected by the Registrar of Trade Unions
  • B. The Ministry of Labour and Employment, with registration effected by the Registrar of Trade Unions
  • C. The Ministry of Labour and Employment, with registration effected by the Registrar of Companies
  • D. The Ministry of Home Affairs, with registration effected by the Chief Labour Commissioner