Bills to increase employable age of young persons to 16 presented to P’ment

• 4 labour laws to be amended to make employable age higher in keeping with compulsory schooling till 16
• Factories Ordinance amendment stipulates hours a young person can be employed

The Labour Minister has presented four bills to Parliament last week that seek to increase the minimum age for employing young persons from 14 to 16 years.

The amendments to the four laws will increase the minimum age of engagement in service up to 16 years in terms of the legal provisions, including the compulsory age of schooling as 16 years.

The laws to be amended are the Shop and Office Employees (Regulation of Employment and Remuneration) Act; Employment of Women, Young Persons, And Children Act (No.47 of 1956) – Sect 9; Minimum Wages (Indian Labourers) Ordinance; and the Factories Ordinance No.45 of 1942.

The Factories Ordinance amendment will also change the hours during which a young person can be employed.

The period of employment of a young person shall not exceed 12 hours in any day and shall neither begin earlier than 6 a.m. nor end later than 8 p.m. On one day of the week, the period of employment shall end by 1 p.m.