British Mandate: A Survey of Palestine: Volume II - Page 750

CHAPTER XVII.

(b) A minimum age of 12 has been laid down for children employed in non-industrial undertakings.

(c) Children not to be employed for more than seven and a half hours daily or forty-two hours in the week.

(d) Young persons (16 to 18 years of age) not to be employed for more than eight and a half hours daily or forty-eight hours in the week.

(e) Women not to be employed for more than eight and a half hours daily or forty-eight hours in the week in industrial undertakings. In other undertakings the maximum for daily work is nine hours and for a week fifty-two hours.

(f) A weekly day of rest, consisting of two nights and a day, is obligatory for all persons governed by these Ordinances.

(g) Young persons not to be employed at night.

(h) Young persons and children to have fourteen days holiday every year.

(i) Provisions with regard to maternity benefits are prescribed for all females of whatever age.

(j) The schedule of occupations prohibited, because dangerous or unhealthy, or subjected to particular restrictions, has been greatly extended.

36. The enactment of the Accidents and Occupational Diseases (Notification) Ordinance* was designed to enable Government to secure full and accurate returns of industrial accidents, which had previously been reported in a haphazard and incomplete manner. In addition to prescribing modes of notification the Ordinance establishes liaison between coroners and representatives of the Department of Labour in cases of fatal accidents and gives inspectors of labour, relatives of the deceased, employers, representatives of the trade union to which the deceased worker belonged and of the employers' ass> "ion the opportunity to examine witnesses at coroner's inquests. An important innovation is the extension of the obligation to notify so as to cover occupational diseases. Not much occupational disease has hitherto been reported in Palestine, but, as industry develops, the appearance of new diseases is often associated with the introduction of new processes. The High Commissioner may, by rules, order notification of dangerous occurrences involving the risk of heavy casualties even if no casualties occur, and the Director is empowered to order a formal investigation by a court of enquiry to be held regarding accidents of cases of occupational disease, where he considers it expedient to do so.
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* Gazette No. 1409 of 13/5/45, supplement No. 1, page 80.

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