TNAG-0873-FCO40-1083-Employment-of-children-in-Hong-Kong-1979 — Page 84

4

Ordinance

Amendment

(b) delete the definition of “young person" and

substitute the following-

61

""young person" has the meaning assigned to it in the Employment Ordinance.".

Delete regulation 4.

(Cap.57.)

(Cap.59. sub. leg.)

Factories and

1.

Industrial Undertakings

2.

Delete paragraph (1) of regulation 43.

Regulations.

(Cap.213.)

Protection of

Delete section 26A.

Women and

Juveniles

Ordinance.

provisions of the Ordinance in relation to any class of persons; and the Commissioner is empowered to exempt, subject to conditions, any person or class of persons from any of the regulations.

The implementation of this Bill and the subsidiary legislation relating to the employment of children, when made, will entail gradual expansion of the Labour Department Inspectorate, the cost for which is estimated at about $1 million for the remainder of 1979 and 1980, rising to about $10 million per year in three years time.

Explanatory Memorandum

The main objects of this Bill are to provide in the Employment Ordinance for powers of entry into places of employment in order to ascertain whether the requirements of the Ordinance are complied with and to enable regulations to be made under the Ordinance to prohibit or control the employment of persons generally.

Should the Bill pass into law, it is intended, as a first step, to make regulations for the employment of children designed to supplement the provisions of the Education Ordinance (Chapter 279) which enable attend- ance orders to be made requiring parents to cause their children to attend at school.

For consistency with the Education Ordinance, the Bill amends section 2 of the Employment Ordinance by inserting a definition of “child”, and consequentially amends the definition therein of “young person”. Up to 31 August 1980, "child” will mean a person under 14 years and, after that date, a person under 15 years of age; and up to the same date, “young person" will mean a person between 14 and 18 years and after that, a person between 15 and 18 years of age. Con- sequential and related amendments are made to the Employment of Young Persons and Children at Sea Ordinance (Chapter 58), the Factories and Industrial Undertakings Ordinance (Chapter 59), the Factories and Industrial Undertakings Regulations and the Protection of Women and Juveniles Ordinance (Chapter 213).

The Bill also adds two new sections. 72 and 73, to the Employment Ordinance.

The new section 72 enables the Commissioner for Labour, or any public officer authorized by him in writing for the purpose, to enter and inspect places of employment. The section provides further that a premises which is used for dwelling purposes shall not be so entered except under a warrant issued by a magistrate where he is satisfied by information or oath that there is reasonable ground for suspecting that an offence against the Ordinance has been or is being committed in the premises or that there is evidence of such an offence therein.

The new section 73 empowers the Governor in Council to make regulations prohibiting or controlling the employment of persons or any class of persons and for matters connected therewith. Power is also given to provide by regulations for the exemption of any industry, occupation or trade from the operation of the Ordinance or any provision thereof; and to provide for the non-application or modification of any of the

一九七九年僱傭(雜項規定)法案

摘要說明

本法案之主要目的,乃在僱傭條例內提供進入有人受僱之工作地點之權力,以 便調查是否有違犯該條例之情形發生。本法案並授權根據原有條例制訂一般性規 例,對某類人士之僱用加以禁止或管制。

本法案如獲通過,則當局擬首先制訂有關僱用兒童之規例,以補-

教育條例 (香港法例第二七九章)之規定。根據該條例,當局有權發出入學令,規定父母必 須送子女入學。

爲與教育條例趨於一致,本法案修訂僱傭條例第二條,以便加入「兒童」一詞 之定義,並相應修訂該條內「青年」一詞之定義。在一九八○年八月三十一日以 前,「兒童」係指十四歲以下之人士,而在該日以後,則指十五歲以下之人士;又 在同一日期以前,「青年」係指十四歲至十八歲之人士,而在該日以後,則指十五 歲至十八歲之人士。因此本法案並對青年及兒童海上工作僱用條例(香港法例第五 十八章)、工廠墍工業經營條例(香港法例第五十九章)、工廠鱀工業經營規例及 保護婦獳條例(香港法例第二一三章)作相應及有關之修訂。

本法案又在僱傭條例增訂第七十二及第七十三兩新條款。

根據新訂第七十二條,勞工處處長或獲其以書面授權之任何公務人員,可進入 有人受僱之工作地點進行觀察。該條文規定:對於作居住用途之樓宇,除非獲裁判 司頒發令狀,否則不得進入,而裁判司則根據經宣誓而提出之資料認為有足够理由 懷疑樓宇內有人會觸犯或現正觸犯該條例,或有證據證明樓宇內會發生違例事件 • 始頒發該令狀。

新訂第七十三條授權總督會同行政局制訂規例,對任何人士或任何類別人士之 僱用加以禁止或管制,以及規定有關事宜。此外又授權總督會同行政局制訂規例, 豁免任何工業、職業或行業受該條例或其中任何規定之限制;並規定該條例之任何 規定對任何類別人士不適用或於修改後始適用;勞工處處長亦獲授權規定條件,豁 免任何人士或任何類別人士遵守若干規例。

實施本法案及與僱用兒童有關之附屬法例,將引致勞工處督察級之編制逐漸擴 大,估計在一九七九年餘下時間及一九八○年內所需費用約爲一百萬元,而在三年 後則每年增至約一千萬元。