Permission needed to hire underage workers

IPOH: It is compulsory for employers to obtain permission from the Labour Department if they want to hire underage Deputy Workers, Human Resource Minister Datuk Mahfuz Omar said.

Mahfuz said it was paramount to get permission before allowing these children to work as the employers could be charged under the Child and Youth Employment Act.

“If employers hiring underage workers were found to have done so without receiving the green light from the Labour Department’s director-general, they can be punished under the act.

“But there are places that these children can work without getting permission from the department, such as family businesses,” he said, adding that there was a limit to this exception in which children were not allowed to work in jobs that could tarnish their morals.

Mahfuz said this at a career carnival held in conjunction with the Entrepreneur and Property Carnival in Meru here yesterday.

He was commenting on an incident in which six people, including business owner P. Thigarajan, 40, died in a fire at the Jelapang Maju Industrial Area on Tuesday.

The other victims were 15-year-old Mohammad Nor Ikram Mohd Husni, Mohamad Ekmal Izzuddin Mohamad Kamari, Mohammad Nuraiman Abdul Rahman and Ahmad Faizal Aminuddin (all aged 16) and Muhamad Azhar Shah Rosli, 19.

Mahfuz said the Department of Occupational Safety and Health was investigating the incident.

“I’m waiting for the department’s report. Should there be negligence on the part of the management, it should be reviewed and action will be taken against them.”