Addition of
new sections
72A, 72B
and 72C.
2
person, agent or servant with reference to such employee and to the employment conditions and treatment of every employee employed by such employer;
(g) remove and detain for inquiries in a place or refuge appointed under any Ordinance for the time being in force relating to women, young persons or children, any young person or child whom he finds in any place or in respect of which he has reasonable cause to suspect that an offence against this Ordinance has been committed; (h) require the posting up, in such place and manner and for such period as he may direct, of any notice or form in connexion with the provisions of this Ordinance; (1) exercise any other powers which may be conferred on him by any regulations made under this Ordinance."; and
(b) by adding, after subsection (2), the following—
"(3) An officer exercising any power conferred on him by subsection (1) may take with him any person whom he may reasonably need to assist him in carrying out his duties under this Ordinance and in particular may, for his assistance, take persons who have been engaged by the Commissioner, on account of their special expertise, to advise the Labour Department on any matters necessary for carrying out the purposes of this Ordinance.
(4) A person who accompanies an officer pursuant to subsection (3)—
(a) may give to the officer such assistance in the exercise of any power conferred on him by subsection (1) as the officer may reasonably require;
(b) shall be deemed to be a public officer for the
purposes of sections 72A and 72B.”.
7. The principal Ordinance is amended by adding, after section 72, the following-
"Duty of
public officers
not to disclose source of
complaint, etc.
72A. (1) Save with the consent of the person who has made the complaint or as provided in subsection (4), no public officer shall disclose to any person, other than another public officer, the name or identity of any person who has made a complaint alleging a contravention of this Ordinance or as a result of which a contravention of this Ordinance has come to his notice or to the notice of any other public officer.
(2) No public officer shall disclose to an employer or his agent or servant that a visit to the place of employment maintained by that employer was made in consequence of the receipt of any such complaint as is referred to in sub- section (1).
(3) Save as provided in subsection (4), where, arising out of, or in connexion with, the enforcement of this Ordinance, any manufacturing or commercial secret or any working process comes to the knowledge of a public officer, such officer shall not at any time, and notwithstanding that he is no longer a public officer, disclose such secret or process to any person,
(4) Where in any proceedings a court or a magistrate considers that justice so requires, the court may order the
Employment not to be terminated, etc. by reason of fact that employee has given evidence in proceedings under Ordinance, etc.
Presumptions.
8.
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disclosure of the name or identity of any person who has made any such complaint as is referred to in subsection (1) or the disclosure of any such secret or process as is referred to in subsection (3).
72B. No employer shall terminate, or threaten to terminate, the employment of, or in any way discriminate against, any of his employees by reason of the fact that the employee has-
(a) given evidence, or agreed to give evidence, in any proceeding for the enforcement of this Ordinance; or (b) given information to a public officer in any inquiry made by such officer for the purposes of or in connexion with the enforcement of this Ordinance.
72C. In any prosecution under this Ordinance- (a) where the age of any person at any time is material for the purposes of any provision of this Ordinance, his age at the material time shall be deemed to be or have been that which appears to the court or magistrate, after considering any available evidence, to be or to have been his age at that time; (b) if the charge alleges the contravention of any of the provisions of this Ordinance prohibiting or controlling the employment of women, young persons or children and the defendant in such prosecution is the employer at the place of em- ployment in or in respect of which the offence is alleged to have been committed, it shall, until the contrary is proved, be presumed that any woman, young person or child to whom the charge relates and who was employed in the place of employment on the day on which the offence is alleged to have been committed was employed therein on that day by such employer.".
Section 73(1) of the principal Ordinance is amended by inserting, Amendment of after paragraph (h), the following—
"(ha) providing that, where the Commissioner is satisfied that work in any place of employment, or class or description thereof, is subject to seasonal or other special pressure, he may by order published in the Gazette as respects any such place of employment, or class or description thereof, increase for any employee during any period of such pressure the hours of work, period of employ- ment or hours of overtime employment specified in relation to that employee in regulations made under this Ordinance for a period in any year not exceeding that specified in the order; (hb) providing that-
(i) any document purporting to be a copy of any document or notice and purporting to be signed by a person or his duly authorized agent shall be admitted in evidence in proceedings before any court or magistrate on its production by a public officer without further proof; and
(ii) until the contrary is proved, the court or magistrate before which such document is produced shall presume that the docu- ment is a true copy and that it is signed by that person or his duly authorized agent; and
(iii) the document shall be conclusive evidence of the facts stated therein;
section 73.