Act of Parliament · As enacted
Employment of Women, Young Persons and Children (Amendment) Act 2021
Official English translation. Where it differs from the Sinhala or Tamil text, the Act itself says which text prevails.
Official translationFrom Department of Government Printing, unchanged
s 1Short title
This Act may be cited as the Employment of Women,
Young Persons and Children (Amendment) Act, No. 2 of 2021.
s 2Amendment of section 3 of Act, No. 47 of 1956
Section 3 of the Employment of Women, Young
Persons and Children Act, No. 47 of 1956 (hereinafter referred to as the “principal enactment”) is hereby amended as follows:-
in subsection (3) thereof, by the substitution for the words “male young persons who have attained the age of sixteen years but are under the age of eighteen years ” of the words “male young persons”;
in subsection (4) thereof, by the substitution for the words “persons between the ages of sixteen and eighteen years” of the words “young persons”; and
in subsection (5) thereof, by the substitution for the words “persons between the ages of sixteen and eighteen years” of the words “young persons,”.
s 3Amendment of section 4 of the principal enactment
Section 4 of the principal enactment is hereby amended in subsection (1) thereof, by the substitution for the words “ a person who has attained the age of sixteen years but is under the age of eighteen years ” of the words “a young person”.
s 4Amendment of section 9 of the principal enactment
Section 9 of the principal enactment is hereby amended as follows:-.
in subsection (1) of that section-
in paragraph (a) thereof, by the substitution for the words “fifteen years” of the words
“sixteen years”; and
in paragraph (b) thereof, by the substitution for the words “fifteen years” of the words
“sixteen years”;
in paragraph (b) of subsection (2) thereof, by the substitution for the words “fifteen years” of the words “sixteen years”; and
by the repeal of subsection (3) of that section.
s 5Repeal of section 10 of the principal enactment
Section 10 of the principal enactment is hereby repealed.
s 6Amendment of section 20 of the principal enactment
Section 20 of the principal enactment is amended as follows:-
in subsection (1) thereof, by the substitution for the words “No child or young person who has not attained the age of 16 years” of the words “No child”;
in subsection (2) thereof, by the substitution for the words “No person who has attained the age of fourteen years but is under the age of eighteen years”
of the words “No young person”; and
in subsection (4) thereof, by the substitution for the words “a person who has attained the age of sixteen years but is under the age of eighteen years” of the words “a young person”.
s 7Amendment of section 34 of the principal enactment
Section 34 of the principal enactment is hereby amended as follows:-
in subsection (1) thereof-
by the substitution for the definition of the expression “child” of the following definition:-
“child” means a person who is under the age of sixteen years;”;
in paragraph (c) of the definition of the expression “industrial undertaking” by the substitution for the words “fourteen years” of the words “sixteen years”;
by the substitution for the definition of the expression “night” of the following definition:-
“night”—
with reference to the employment of women, means atleast eleven consecutive hours including the period between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m.; and
with reference to the employment of persons under the age of eighteen years, means at least twelve consecutive hours which shall end not later than 6 a.m.
and which-
in the case of such of those persons as have attained the age of sixteen years, shall, subject to the provisions of sub-paragraph (ii), include atleast seven consecutive hours falling between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.; and
in the case of such of those persons as have attained the age of sixteen years and are undergoing vocational training in the baking industry or are apprentices in that industry, shall, if work during the night in that industry prohibited for all workers, include the seven consecutive hours falling between 9 p.m. and 4 a.m., instead of the period of atleast seven consecutive hours referred to in sub-paragraph (i) if the
Minister by Order published in the Gazette so directs;”;
by the substitution for the definition of the expression “young person” of the following definition:-
“young person” means a person who has attained the age of sixteen years but is under the age of eighteen years.”; and
in paragraph (a) of subsection (2) thereof, by the substitution for the words “fourteen years” of the words “sixteen years”.
s 8Sinhala text to prevail in case of inconsistency
In the event of any inconsistency between the Sinhala and Tamil texts of this Act, the Sinhala text shall prevail.