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DR 23/2010
A BILL
intituled
An act to amend the Children and Young Persons (Employment) act 1966.
ENACTED by the Parliament of Malaysia as follows:
1. Short title and commencement
(1) This act may be cited as the Children and Young Persons (Employment) (Amendment) Act 2010.
(2) This act comes into operation on a date to be appointed by the Minister by notification in the Gazette.
2. Non-application
This act shall not apply to a person above the age of sixteen but below the age of eighteen who is engaged in an existing employment before the commencement of this act.
3. Amendment of section 1a
The Children and Young Persons (Employment) act 1966 [Act 350], which is referred to as the "principal act" in this act, is amended in subsection 1a(1):-
(a) by substituting definition: for the definition of "child" the following
' "child" means any person who has not completed his fifteenth year of age;’;
(b) by substituting for the definition of "young person" the following definition:
' "young person" means any person who, not being a child, has not completed his eighteenth year of age;’;
(c) in the definition of ' "employ" and "employment" ’, by deleting the words "exercised by way of a trade or"; and
(d) by inserting after the definition of "guardian" the following definition:
' "light work" means any work performed by a worker:-
(a) while sitting, with moderate movement of the arm, leg and trunk; or
(b) while standing, with mostly moderate movement of the arm;’.
4. Amendment of section 2
Section 2 of the principal act is amended:-
(a) in subsection (1), by inserting after the word "any" the words "hazardous work, or any";
(b) in subsection (4), by inserting after the word "health" the words ", safety";
(c) in subsection (5), by substituting for the words "or the Electricity act 1949 [Act 116]" the words ", the Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994 [Act 514] or the Electricity Supply Act 1990 [Act 447]"; and
(d) by inserting subsection: after subsection (5) the following subsection:-
"(6) For the purpose of this section, "hazardous work" means any work that has been classified as hazardous work based on the risk assessment conducted by a competent authority on safety and health determined by the Minister.".
5. Amendment of section 7
Subsection 7(2) of the principal act is amended by inserting after the word "health" the words ", safety".
6. New section 9a
The principal act is amended by inserting after section 9 the following section:
"Offence by body corporate, etc.
9A. Where an offence under this act has been committed by a body corporate, partnership, society or trade union:-
(a) in the case of a body corporate, any person who is a director, manager, or other similar officer of the body corporate at the time of the commission of the offence;
(b) in the case of a partnership, every partner in the partnership at the time of the commission of the offence; and
(c) in the case of a society or trade union, every office-bearer of the society or trade union at the time of the commission of the offence,
shall be deemed to have committed the offence and may be charged jointly or severally in the same proceedings as the body corporate, partnership, society or trade union.".
7. Amendment of section 14
Subsection 14(1) of the principal act is amended:-
(a) by substituting for the words "six months" the words "one year";
(b) by substituting for the words "two thousand" the words "five thousand";
(c) by substituting for the words "two years" the words "three years"; and
(d) by substituting for the words "three thousand" the words "ten thousand".
8. Amendment of section 16
Section 16 of the principal act is amended by deleting the words "set out in the First Schedule".
9. Deletion of First Schedule
The principal act is amended by deleting the First Schedule.
10. Saving provision
Any existing contract of employment entered into by a child or a young person under subsection 2(2) or 2(3), respectively, before the commencement of this act shall continue and be valid as if this act has not been made.
EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
This bill seeks to amend the Children and Young Persons (Employment) act 1966 ["act 350"]. The primary purpose of this bill is to increase the age of children and young persons that can be engaged in any employment, in tandem with the Minimum age Convention, 1973 which has been ratified by Malaysia.
2. Clause 1 contains the short title and the power of the Minister to appoint the commencement date of the proposed act.
3. Clause 3 seeks to amend section 1a of Act 350 to introduce a new definition of "light work" and to amend certain existing definitions used in Act 350. The definitions of "child" and "young person" are amended to increase the minimum age of child and young person.
4. Clause 4 seeks to amend section 2 of Act 350 to prohibit any child or young person to engage in any hazardous work. a new subsection (6) is inserted to define the term of "hazardous work".
5. Clause 5 seeks to amend subsection 7(2) of Act 350 to include safety as one of the elements to be considered by the Director General before issuing a license of employment connected with public entertainment.
6. Clause 6 seeks to introduce a new section 9a into Act 350 to provide for offences committed by a body corporate, partnership, society and trade union.
7. Clause 7 seeks to amend subsection 14(1) of Act 350 to increase the penalties for offences committed under Act 350.
8. Other amendments not specifically dealt with in this Statement are minor or consequential in nature.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
This Bill will not involve the Government in any extra financial expenditure.