Protection of Young Persons (Employment) Act, 1977
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Preservation of existing rates of wages. |
20.—(1) Where, in order to comply with the provisions of this Act, the hours of work prevailing immediately before the commencement of this Act in regard to all employees or any particular employee employed in any particular form of work are reduced or are otherwise altered, the following provisions shall have effect, that is to say: | |
(a) the rate of salary, wages or other reward payable to any such employee immediately before the commencement of this Act shall not be reduced or be otherwise altered to the detriment of such employee merely because of the said reduction or alteration in the hours of work of such employee; | ||
(b) the said reduction or alteration of hours shall not terminate nor prejudicially affect the contract of service under which such employee is so employed immediately before the commencement of this Act, and every such contract shall continue in force after such commencement with such modifications only as may be necessary in order to comply with this Act; | ||
(c) every agreement which is in force immediately before the commencement of this Act and regulates or restricts the rate of salary, wages or other reward payable to any such employee shall continue in force after the commencement of this Act notwithstanding the said reduction or alteration of hours of work but with the modification that every rate of salary, wages or other reward which is fixed by such agreement and every restriction on any rate of salary, wages, or other reward contained in such agreement shall remain unchanged in amount; | ||
(d) every minimum rate of salary, wage or other reward fixed by statute or under statutory authority which is in force immediately before the commencement of this Act shall, if and so far as it is applicable to any such employee, continue after such commencement in force and unchanged in amount notwithstanding the said reduction or alteration of hours of work. | ||
(2) Subsection (1) of this section shall apply in relation to every order made under this Act by the Minister fixing hours of work in relation to any form of work subject to the modification that every reference in the said subsection to the commencement of this Act shall be construed and have effect as a reference to the coming into operation of such order and every reference in the said subsection to compliance with this Act shall be construed and have effect as a reference to compliance with such order. | ||
(3) This section shall apply to piece work wages (within the meaning of the Conditions of Employment Act, 1936 ) and to wages calculated by direct reference to the number of hours worked but with the modification that for the purposes of such application every provision in this section to the effect that a rate of wages or a minimum rate of wages or a restriction on a rate of wages is to remain unchanged shall be construed and have effect as a provision that the rate of piece work wages or of wages by the hour (as the case may be) shall be so adjusted or varied that the average weekly earnings shall remain unchanged. | ||
(4) An employer who contravenes this section shall be guilty of an offence. |