Preamble
The General Conference of the International Labour Organisation,
Having been convened at Montreal by the Governing Body of the International Labour Office and having met in its Twenty-ninth Session on 19 September 1946, and
Having decided upon the adoption of certain proposals with regard to the restriction of night work of children and young persons in non-industrial occupations, which is included in the third item on the agenda of the Session, and
Having adopted a Convention on this subject and having decided to supplement this Convention by a Recommendation,
adopts this ninth day of October of the year one thousand nine hundred and forty-six, the following Recommendation, which may be cited as the Night Work of Young Persons (Non-Industrial Occupations) Recommendation, 1946:
Whereas the Night Work of Young Persons (Non-Industrial Occupations) Convention, 1946, lays down the basis for legislative protection against the dangers of night work in non-industrial occupations in which large numbers of young workers are engaged;
Whereas although, on account of the great diversity of employments to which its provisions apply and on account of the different traditions and circumstances peculiar to each country, the Convention leaves it to national laws and regulations to adapt for each given country the implementation of the standards laid down therein, it is nevertheless desirable to ensure as uniform application as possible of the Convention; and
Whereas it is desirable that account should be taken of certain methods which have been found to give satisfactory results and which may accordingly be a guide to the Members of the Organisation;
The Conference recommends that each Member should apply the following provisions as rapidly as national conditions allow and report to the International Labour Office as requested by the Governing Body concerning the measures taken to give effect thereto:
I. Scope of the Regulations
- 1. The provisions of the Night Work of Young Persons (Non-Industrial Occupations) Convention, 1946, should be applied to all occupations which are carried on in or in connection with the following undertakings or services, whether public or private:
- (a) commercial establishments, including delivery services;
- (b) postal and telecommunication services, including delivery services;
- (c) establishments and administrative services in which the persons employed are mainly engaged in clerical work;
- (d) newspaper undertakings (editing, distribution, delivery services and the sale of newspapers in the streets or in places to which the public have access);
- (e) hotels, boarding-houses, restaurants, clubs, cafés and other refreshment houses;
- (f) establishments for the treatment and care of the sick, infirm or destitute and of orphans;
- (g) theatres and places of public entertainment;
- (h) itinerant trading, the hawking of objects of all kinds, and any other occupation or service carried on in the streets or in places to which the public have access;
- (i) all other jobs, occupations or services which are neither industrial nor agricultural nor maritime.
- 2. Without prejudice to the discretion which the Night Work of Young Persons (Non-Industrial Occupations) Convention, 1946, leaves to Members to exempt from its application domestic service carried on for wages or earnings in a private household and employment on work which is not deemed to be harmful, prejudicial or dangerous to children or young persons in family undertakings in which only parents and their children or wards are engaged, the attention of Members is drawn to the desirability of:
- (a) adopting appropriate legislative and administrative measures for restricting the night work of children and young persons under eighteen years of age who are engaged in domestic service;
- (b) extending to all undertakings carried on for profit, without consideration of the family relationship existing between the persons engaged in them, the application of the regulations concerning the restriction of night work in non-industrial occupations.
II. Employment in Public Entertainment
- 3. Where local authorities are empowered, in virtue of the provisions of Article 5 of the Night Work of Young Persons (Non-Industrial Occupations) Convention, 1946, to grant individual licences to children and young persons allowing them to appear at night as performers in public entertainments or to participate at night as performers in the making of cinematographic films, supervisory control over the issuing of such licences should be vested in a higher authority to which the persons concerned may appeal either against the refusal of the licence or against any of the conditions imposed therein.
- 4. Licences should be issued for limited periods and should be subject to all the conditions necessary in the circumstances of each case for the protection of the child or young person.
- 5. Licences should be granted for children under fourteen years of age only in exceptional cases in which they are justified by the need of vocational training or the talent of the child and should be subject to the following conditions:
- (a) such licences should be restricted as a rule to children who are attending institutions for dramatic or musical instruction;
- (b) employment at night should be limited as far as possible to three evenings a week or to an average of three evenings a week calculated over a longer period;
- (c) employment should cease by ten o'clock in the evening or a rest period of sixteen consecutive hours should be granted.
III. Methods of Supervision
- 6. While respecting the principle laid down in paragraph 12 of the Labour Inspection Recommendation, 1923, according to which the inspectorate should include men and women having the same powers and duties and exercising the same authority, it is desirable to take into account the experience of certain countries which have found it particularly satisfactory to entrust to women inspectors the enforcement of laws and regulations for the protection of young workers.
- 7. In addition to regular inspection to ensure compliance with the laws and regulations for the protection of young workers, special attention should be given, in order to achieve effective application of the provisions of the Night Work of Young Persons (Non-Industrial Occupations) Convention, 1946, as regards non-industrial activities carried on in a great number of small and scattered undertakings, to the investigation of alleged violations of the law reported by the public, and more particularly immediate action should be taken upon complaints lodged by the parents of the child or young person.
- 8. When deciding on the form of document which the employer shall be required by law to keep for the purpose of furnishing the inspection services with the means of supervising the enforcement of the regulations restricting night work, it is desirable to take into consideration the advantages of the work permit or the workbook which, as they must be issued or officially stamped on each change of employment, make it easy to identify the young worker, provide proof of age and fix his conditions of work, including working hours.
- 9.
- (1) In order to facilitate the identification by official supervisory services of young itinerant workers protected by the laws or regulations concerning night work--
- (a) young itinerant workers working for wages should carry on their person a document and a badge which will permit their identification outside the undertaking, in addition to the documents kept by the employer;
- (b) young itinerant workers working on their own account or on account of their parents should carry on their person a document authorising their employment and a badge which will permit their identification.
- (2) Young itinerant workers under eighteen years of age should be provided with a work permit or an individual licence containing--
- (a) the name, age and address of the child or young person;
- (b) the photograph or signature of the child or young person or other means of identification and his permit or licence number;
- (c) if the child or young person is employed for wages, the name and address of the employer and his hours of work; and
- (d) if the child or young person is working on his own account or on account of his parents, the name and address of his parents and their authorisation.
- (3) It is desirable that the work permit or individual licence should be issued by a service under the labour department.
- (4) A young itinerant worker should be obliged to wear the badge which bears his permit or licence number so that it will be readily visible.
- (5) The full co-operation of local authorities, and particularly that of the preventive police, if such exists, of educational authorities and of child welfare authorities, with inspection services, should be obtained in order to ensure supervision of the working hours of young itinerant workers and the enforcement of the laws and regulations relating to night work.
- (6) The employer should be held legally responsible for violations of the laws or regulations, and in particular for any disproportion between the volume of work to be required and the time available for its performance during permitted working hours; the employer should be given the opportunity to vindicate his good faith if he exercised all due diligence to prevent the violation.
- (7) Parents should, after previous warning, be held legally responsible for violations of the laws or regulations when the occupation is carried on their account or with their authorisation.
