chapter 9

labour relations and collective

bargaining
Multiple choice questions

1. Traditionally, the concept of labour relations referred to the study of management

and union relations, together with _________________________ affecting the
relations between the two parties?

a. Collective bargaining

b. Strikes

c. Labour laws

d. All of the above

2. Which of the following is not a defining feature of the employment relationship?

a. Power is equally distributed between the parties

b. It is dynamic

c. It is indeterminate

d. Power is unequally distributed between the parties

3. Which of the following is not an example of a reason why employees join trade
unions?

a. To achieve higher wages

b. To address perceived economic inequalities in society

 c. To relinquish control in the employment relationship

d. To lobby politicians for action on work-related or societal improvements

4. What is being described here: “The processes by which unions represent their
members’ interests through formal negotiations with management
representatives”?

a. Unionization

b. Consultation

c. Collective bargaining

d. Neo-liberalism

5. What does ACAS stand for?

a. Assistance, Consultation and Assessment Service

b. Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service

c. Advisory, Communication and Arbitration Situation

d. Assistance, Consultation and Assessment Support

6. Which of the following UK legislative instruments establishes a more supportive

statutory framework for union organization, governance and collective bargaining?

a. Employment Act 1984

b. Employment Relations Act 1999

c. Trade Union Act 1984

d. None of the above

7. Which UK legislative instrument requires unions to notify all eligible members of

the exact breakdown of votes in a secret ballot?

a. Employment Relations Act 2004

b. Trade Union Reform and Employment Rights Act 1993

c. Employment Act 1990

d. Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992

8. What of the following is not a factor that influences the choice of strategy for
dealing with trade unions?

a. Profile of union membership

 b. Path dependency

c. National institutions

d. Union power

9. What is being described here: “A decision by senior managers to limit the spread of
unionization to other sections of the company’s workforce, although they accept
the legitimacy of their existing unions”?

a. Union-acceptance strategy

b. Union-replacement strategy

c. Union-resistance strategy

d. Union-avoidance strategy

10. Union de-recognition is a feature of which form of industrial relations strategy?

a. Union-replacement strategy

b. Union-avoidance strategy

c. Union-resistance strategy

d. None of the above

11. Which of the following is not an example of an employee voice mechanism under a
union-avoidance strategy?

a. Employee participation schemes

b. Collective agreements

c. Non-union grievance and disciplinary procedures

d. Team-based participation

12. Which of the following is not one of the factors that can explain variations in the
rate of unionization as suggested by Bain and Price (1983)?

a. Public policy

b. Employer policy

c. High levels of unemployment

d. The business cycle

13. Which of the following is not a factor that has directly impacted on aggregate
union decline in the UK?
 a. Economic restructuring from manufacturing to services

b. The growth of precarious employment

c. Employers’ policies

d. Gender

14. What does the term ‘closed shop’ refer to?

a. Compulsory membership of a trade union

b. Restricted membership of a trade union

c. Temporary membership of a trade union

d. None of the above

15. What is being described here: “Areas of the labour market from which a trade union
aims to recruit”?

a. Union composition

b. Union density

c. Union solidarity

d. Union structure

16. Which of the following is not one of the four classic ideal union types?

a. General

b. White-collar

c. Specific

d. Craft

17. Which of the following is not one of the three largest unions affiliated with the
TUC?

a. GMB

b. UNITE

c. UCU

d. UNISON

18. What does the term ‘conglomerate union’ refer to?

a. Large individual unions whose members are distributed over a wide range
of different industries
 b. Where craft and general unions cross the boundaries of workplaces and
industries

c. A super-union developed through a union merger

d. None of the above

19. Collective bargaining can be defined as an institutional system of formal

_______________ in which the making, interpretation and administration of rules,
as well as the application of statutory controls affecting the employment
relationship, are decided within union-management negotiating committees?

a. Control

b. Negotiation

c. Consultation

d. Communication

20. Which of the following is not a feature of collective bargaining in the UK?

a. Union and management representatives jointly determine some of the rules

and regulations of the employment contract

b. The parties negotiating the collective agreement also enforce the agreement

c. Collective bargaining is closely correlated to political democracy

d. Collective agreements are usually regarded as contracts of legal

enforcement between the parties involved

21. What are substantive rules?

a. They regulate the way in which procedural rules are made and interpreted

b. They indicate how workplace conflicts are to be resolved

c. They establish terms and conditions of employment

d. They outline the legal implications of collective agreements

22. A steep decline in collective bargaining coverage has occurred in which of the
following countries in recent years?

a. UK

b. Belgium

c. France

d. All of the above

23. A propensity towards high trust and cooperation is a feature of _______________.

a. Anglo-Saxon industrial relations

b. The HRM model

c. Collectivism

d. Contemporary industrial relations

24. What is being described here: “An externally focused strategy that emphasizes
labour relations embedded in ‘union-friendly’ employment law”?

a. Social partnership strategy

b. New unionism

c. Union renewal strategy

d. Organizing strategy

25. Which of the following is not regarded as a disadvantage of a partnership strategy

for individual employees?

a. Employees may experience lower income growth

b. Employees may experience greater work intensification

c. Employees may have to share more information with their employers

d. Employees may have to demonstrate greater commitment to their firm