Employment of children, women, and young persons

(1) A Head of Department may not under any circumstances employ a child under the age of 14. (2) The provisions of Part XIII of the Labour Act shall be applied to the employment of women and young persons (i.e. over 14 but under 18 years of age). The main provisions are– (a) women and young persons may not be employed in an industrial undertaking at night between the hours of 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. except– (i) in an emergency which must be reported to the Labour Commissioner immediately; (ii) women may be employed at night in responsible positions of managerial or technical character or in health and welfare services; (b) there are restrictions on the employment of young persons on vessels engaged in maritime navigation; (c) prohibitions and restrictions may be relaxed under certain circumstances for the purpose of apprenticeship and vocational training. (3) Where women or young persons are employed, they shall be given work which is not physically harmful to them and paid wages on the basis of “equal pay for equal work”, i.e., they shall be paid at the same rate which would be paid to an adult male if they can perform the amount of work of the same quality. Their employment shall not be resorted to simply to reduce labour costs. Belize Constitution 187