Conditions of Employment Act, 1936

Restrictions on employment of young persons.

15.—(1) The Minister may in respect of any form of industrial work, after consultation with representatives of employers interested in such form of industrial work and with representatives of workers so interested, by order make regulations either—

(a) prohibiting the employment of young persons to do such form of industrial work, or

(b) fixing a proportion which the number of young persons employed by any employer to do such form of industrial work may bear to the number of other workers so employed.

(2) Where any regulations made under this section are for the time being in force in respect of any form of industrial work it shall not be lawful for any employer to employ to do such form of industrial work either (as the case may be) any young person or so many young persons that the number of young persons so employed by such employer bears to the number of other workers so employed a proportion greater than that fixed by such regulations.

(3) If, when any regulations made under this section are for the time being in force, any employer employs a young person or a number of young persons in contravention of such regulations such employer shall be guilty of an offence under this section.

(4) In this section the expression “young person” does not include any apprentice who at the commencement of this Act is employed under indentures whereby he is bound to serve as apprentice for a period not less than three years or any apprentice who, at or after such commencement, is employed as apprentice under rules made by an apprenticeship committee under the Apprenticeship Act, 1931 (No. 56 of 1931).