S.I. No. 227/1964:

EMPLOYMENT REGULATION ORDER (SUGAR CONFECTIONERY AND FOOD PRESERVING JOINT LABOUR COMMITTEE), 1964.

EMPLOYMENT REGULATION ORDER (SUGAR CONFECTIONERY AND FOOD PRESERVING JOINT LABOUR COMMITTEE), 1964.

WHEREAS the Labour Court (hereinafter called "the Court") pursuant to the provisions of Section 43 of the Industrial Relations Act, 1946 (hereinafter called "the Act"), made Employment Regulation Order (Sugar Confectionery and Food Preserving Joint Labour Committee), 1963, dated 19th December, 1963 ( S.I. No. 264 of 1963 ), (hereinafter called "the said Order") fixing the statutory minimum remuneration and regulating the conditions of employment of workers in relation to whom the Sugar Confectionery and Food Preserving Joint Labour Committee (hereinafter called "the Committee") operates;

AND WHEREAS the Committee has submitted to the Court the proposals set out in the Schedule hereto for fixing the minimum rates of remuneration and regulating the conditions of employment of workers in relation to whom the Committee operates;

AND WHEREAS the provisions of Section 43 of the Act have been compiled with;

NOW, THEREFORE, the Court in exercise of the powers conferred on it by Section 43 of the Act hereby orders as follows:--

(1) This Order may be cited as the Employment Regulation Order (Sugar Confectionery and Food Preserving Joint Labour Committee), 1964.

(2) Effect is hereby given to the proposals set out in the Schedule hereto.

(3) The provisions set out in the Schedule hereto shall have effect as from the 28th September, 1964 and as from that date the said Order shall be revoked.

SCHEDULE.

WORKERS TO WHOM THIS SCHEDULE APPLIES.

1. This Schedule applies to all workers in respect of any time during which they are employed in any branch or process of the trade specified hereunder:--

(a) The making of sugar confectionery, cocoa, chocolate, jam, marmalade, preserved fruits, fruit and table jellies, sauces and pickles.

(b) The preparation of poultry, game, fish, vegetables and fruit for sale in a preserved state in tins, pots, bottles and similar receptacles.

(c) The processes of wrapping, boxing, parcelling, bottling, filling, packing, labelling, warehousing and despatching when such processes are carried out in connection with any making or preparation referred to in paragraph (a) or paragraph (b) above.

(d) All operations (including in particular, the cleaning of premises, utensils and plant), incidental or appertaining to the making of articles referred to in paragraph (a) to the preparation of articles, referred to in paragraph (b) or to the processes referred to in paragraph (c) above.

But Excluding--

(i) Maintenance work of all descriptions (including the maintenance of steam and power),

(ii) Transport,

(iii) Non-industrial work,

(iv) The covering and filling of biscuits, wafers and cakes with chocolate or sugar confectionery, and

(v) Work in which workers covered by a registered employment agreement are engaged.

STATUTORY MINIMUM REMUNERATION

2. Piece-Work Basis Time-Rate.

In the case of each worker specified in this Schedule who is employed on piece-work, each piece-rate must be such as would yield in the circumstances of the case to an ordinary worker not less than the Piece-Work Basis Time-Rate. In determining whether any piece-rate satisfies this condition, regard must be had only to the earnings of ordinary workers, i.e. workers of ordinary skill and experience in the class of work in question, and not to the earnings of Learners or infirm workers or workers of greater or less than ordinary skill and experience.

3. Minimum Time-Rates for Male Workers.

The minimum time-rates shall be as follows:--

In the case of an adult Male Worker over 18 but under 22 years of age the Minimum Time-Rates shall be payable subject to the condition that the worker is employed under conditions which afford a reasonable prospect of advancement to the Minimum Time-Rate of 5s. 0¼d. per hour. Otherwise the Minimum Time-Rate payable shall be 4s. 11¼d. per hour irrespective of age.

In the case of workers under 18 years of age the rate payable shall be that appropriate to their age where they are engaged in work not normally undertaken by adult Males.

4. Piece-Work Basis Time-Rate for Male Workers.

5. Shift-Work Rates for both Male and Female Workers.

(i) (a) Workers (other than part-time shift workers) employed on a shift commencing or ending between the hours of 5.30 p.m. and 7 a.m. shall be paid at the rate of one-and-three-sixteenths of the appropriate minimum time rate.

(b) Workers (other than part-time shift workers) employed on a shift falling wholly between the hours of 7 a.m. and 5.30 p.m. shall be paid at the rate of one-and-one-eight of the appropriate minimum time rate.

(ii) (a) Workers employed on a part-time basis whose spell of work commences or ends outside agreed normal factory working hours for day workers shall be paid the rate of one-and-one-eight of the appropriate minimum time rate in respect of their full spell of work.

(b) Part-time workers whose spell of work falls entirely within the agreed normal factory working hours for day workers shall be paid the appropriate minimum time rate.

6. Minimum Time-Rates for Female Workers.

The Minimum Time-Rates for Female Workers shall be as follows:

(b) Learners as defined in Section 11 of this Schedule:

7. Piece-Work Basis Time-Rate for Female Workers.

8. Overtime Rates for both Male and Female Workers.

For both Male and Female workers whether the worker is employed on Time-Work, Shift-Work, or Piece-Work, all overtime as defined in Section 10 (ten) shall be paid for at overtime rates and the minimum overtime rates shall be as follows:--

(a) For the first two hours of Daily Overtime the Overtime Rate shall be one-and-a-third times the Minimum Rate otherwise applicable, i.e. Time-and-a-third.

(b) For Daily Overtime, after the first two hours the Overtime Rate shall be one-and-a-half times the Minimum Rate otherwise applicable, i.e., Time-and-a-half.

(c) For all Weekly Overtime other than Overtime paid for in accordance with sub-sections (a) or (b) or (d) of this Section, the Overtime Rate shall be Time-and-a-third.

(d) For all Overtime worked on Saturday, the Overtime Rate shall be Time-and-a-half up to 5 p.m., Double time after 5 p.m. For all Overtime worked on Sunday, the Overtime Rate shall be Double time.

STATUTORY CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT

9. Working Hours and Working Week.

(i) The normal working week shall be one of 5 days from Monday to Friday inclusive.

(ii) The normal number of hours to be worked shall be as follows:--

10. Overtime.

(i) Weekly Overtime:

All time worked in any week in excess of 42½ hours in the case of a worker of 18 years of age or over or in excess of 40 hours in the case of a worker whose age is less than 18 years shall be weekly overtime provided always that all time worked on Saturday shall be treated as overtime unless failure to work 42½ hours or 40 hours in the case of a worker whose age is less than 18 years during the other five days of the week is due to absence of the worker without leave.

When a Statutory Public Holiday falls on a day on which work would have been done but for the fact that such Holiday did fall on such day, the number of hours which would normally have been worked shall, for the purposes of this section, be reckoned as hours worked subject to the daily maxima prescribed in Part 9 of this Schedule.

(ii) Daily Overtime:

Notwithstanding that the number of hours worked in the week does not exceed 42½ in the case of a worker of 18 years of age or over or 40 in the case of a worker whose age is less than 18 years the following excesses shall be daily overtime:--

(a) On any day: All time worked in excess of 812 hours in the case of a worker of 18 years of age or over or in excess of 8 hours in the case of a worker whose age is less than 18 years.

CONDITIONS GOVERNING LEARNERSHIP AND GOVERNING THE PAYMENT OF THE SPECIAL LOWER RATES FIXED FOR LEARNERS.

11. Female Learners--Definition.

A Female Learner is a female worker

(i) who is employed during the whole or a substantial part of her hours of work in learning any branch or process of the trade specified in Section 1 of this Schedule,

(ii) who is provided by her employer with reasonable facilities for learning such branch or process,

(iii) who is employed in an undertaking in which the ratio of female workers with less than two years' experience in the trade to other female workers does not exceed one to three, or exceeds this ratio only as authorised by the Committee in accordance with Section 15 of this Schedule,

(iv) who has not had four years' employment in the trade, and

(v) who has been registered as a learner by the Committee in accordance with Section 18 of this Schedule or in respect of whom application for such registration has been made which has been duly acknowledged by the Committee and is still under consideration or who is on probation in accordance with Section 12 of this Schedule.

12. Probationary Period

An employer may employ a learner on first employment in the trade without a certificate of registration for a probationary period not exceeding four weeks but in the event of such worker being continued thereafter in employment in the trade the probationary period shall be included in her period of learnership.

13. Previous Employment.

Any worker employed as a Learner, who has previously been employed in any branch of the trade defined in Section I of this Schedule shall count the whole period of such previous employment in calculating the period of learnership completed by her for the purpose of determining the time-rate at which she is entitled to be paid. Employment prior to the 29th August, 1952, in the making of meat extracts or meat essences or in the preparation of meat for sale in a preserved state in tins, pots, bottles or similar receptacle shall also be counted.

14. Continuity of employment.

Where the employment of a female learner with a particular employer is interrupted by reason of her illness, the temporary cessation of the work on which she is employed, the temporary reduction of the weekly quantity of such work or any other temporary cause not due to her act or default she shall be deemed to have been in continuous employment of such employer for the purpose of determining the appropriate rate applicable to her provided that such interruption does not exceed thirty days (counting Sundays and other non-working days) and provided that she returns to employment with that particular employer at the end of such interruption.

15. Limitation of Employment of Learners of less than two years' experience.

The ratio of female Learners who have had less than two years' employment in the trade to other female workers employed therein shall not exceed one such Learner to three other female workers in the case of any particular employer, but the Committee may, if it is satisfied in any particular case that special facts or circumstances so require, authorise the employment of Learners in excess of the ratio and may register Learners accordingly. An employer shall not be entitled to pay Learners so registered at Learners' rates if subsequent disemployment of workers with two years' experience or more in the trade results in the ratio authorised by the Committee being exceeded.

16. Payment of Learners' Rates.

A worker who is a Learner within the meaning of Section 11 may be paid the special lower rates fixed for Learners in Section 6. Otherwise the rate payable is that for female workers other than Learners.

The registration of a Learner shall not of itself authorise the payment of the worker at Learner's rates unless the other conditions specified in Section 11 are fulfilled.

17. Cancellation of Registration.

The Committee, if it is satisfied that any of the conditions of Section 11 are not complied with in respect of any worker, may cancel the registration of that worker as a Learner. If registration is cancelled the minimum rates to which a worker is entitled are those prescribed for female workers other than Learners.

18. Provisions with respect to Registration.

(i) An employer who wishes to employ a worker at the special lower rates fixed for Learners must apply to the Committee for the registration as a Learner of the worker. Application must be made even though the worker was previously registered as a Learner in the trade and even though she had previously been employed by him as a Registered Learner provided that a period of over thirty days has elapsed since such previous employment.

(ii) The employer shall furnish to the Committee such information as it may require to enable it to determine whether the provisions governing Learnership as set out in Section 11 are fulfilled.

(iii) The employer shall safely keep the certificate of registration and shall produce it on request to an inspector duly appointed by the Minister for Industry and Commerce under Part IV of the Industrial Relations Act, 1946 , or to the Committee. He shall also surrender it to the Learner when she leaves his employment and shall enter on it the date on which she ceased to be employed by him.

19. Appointment of a Sub-committee.

The Committee may, if it thinks fit, refer to a Sub-Committee appointed under the provisions of paragraph 8 of the Second Schedule to the Industrial Relations Act, 1946 , applications made to it for the registration of learners and may also, if it thinks fit, delegate to the Sub-Committee so appointed any or all of the powers and duties thereunder and the expression "Committee" used in Section 15 above shall include the Sub-Committee so appointed.

GIVEN under the Official Seal of the Court this 17th day of September, 1964.

D. Mac DIARMADA

A person authorised under Section 18 of the Act to authenticate the Seal of the Court.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

This Instrument fixes new minimum rates of remuneration and regulates conditions of employment, as from 28th September, 1964, for workers employed in the Sugar Confectionery and Food Preserving Trade. It is made by the Labour Court on the recommendation of the Sugar Confectionery and Food Preserving Joint Labour Committee.