DIAMOND CUTTING I
NDUSTRY SCHEME- SCHEME NO. 20 ġ S.L.343.19 1
SUBSIDIARY LEGISLATION 343.19
DIAMOND CUTTING INDUSTRY SCHEME
- SCHEME NO. 20
28th August, 1979
LEGAL NOTICE 85 of 1979, as amended by Legal Notice 171 of 1989.
Citation and 
application.
Cap. 343.
1. The title of this Scheme is the Diamond Cutting Industry
Scheme - Scheme No. 20, and it shall apply to the callings of
diamond girdling, diamond polishing, diamond sorting and fixing,
and in the discs preparation section for the processing of diamonds,
which occupations are hereby being designated as "callings" within
the meaning and for the purposes of the Employment and Training
Services Act.
Interpretation.
Cap. 252.
"customary holidays" means the days (other than Sundays)
declared for the time being to be public holidays by or under the
National Day and other Public Holidays Act.
Entry 
qualifications.
3. No person may be employed as an apprentice under this
scheme unless it is shown to the Director or his delegate that such
person has a standard of education at least equivalent to that of a
person who has either finished the fourth year of Secondary School
or the full Trade School Course.
Period of 
apprenticeship.
4. The period of apprenticeship in any of the callings under
this scheme shall be of four years.
Undertaking by 
employer.
5. An employer engaging apprentices under this scheme shall
undertake to instruct them and to grant them the facilities to learn
the processes listed in the First Schedule in relation to each of the
callings:
Provided that in respect of any of the callings the
employer, after carefully considering the aptitude and suitability of
an apprentice, and after consultation with the Director, will have
the right to decide whether such apprentice should be trained in any
one or more of the said callings as the case may be.
Classes of 
instruction.
6. (1) The Minister may by order specify such classes of
instruction which apprentices employed under this scheme should
attend.
(2) Any employer shall afford to any apprentice employed
under this scheme facilities for attending such classes throughout
the period of apprenticeship.
(3) Such classes shall not take up more than ten hours in any
one week.
(4)  Should the apprentice fail to attend any classes of
instruction on any day without just cause, the employer shall be
entitled to make a deduction from the wages of the apprentice
equivalent to one-twelfth of the weekly rate in respect of each half-
day, or part thereof, of default:
2 ġ S.L.343.19
DIAMOND CUTTING I
NDUSTRY SCHEME- SCHEME NO. 20
Provided that when the apprentice is conditioned to a five
day week, the deduction shall be at the rate of one-tenth of the
weekly rate in respect of each half-day or part thereof, of default.
Hours of work. 7. (1) The hours of work of apprentices employed under this
scheme shall not exceed eight hours in any one day:
Provided that employers may employ apprentices on
overtime with the approval of the Director, who may impose such
conditions as he may deem fit, at the following rates of
remuneration:
( a ) for all time worked in excess of eight hours daily -
time and a half;
( b ) for all time worked in excess of forty hours in any
week, exclusive of any time paid at overtime rates -
time and a half;
( c ) for all time worked on Sundays and on customary
holidays - double time.
(2) Apprentices under 16 years of age may not be employed
between 11 p.m. on any one day and 6 a.m. of the next following
day.
Wages. 8. The wages to be paid to apprentices under this scheme
shall be those specified in the Second Schedule.
Weekly rest. 9. Apprentices shall be granted one whole day of rest in every
calendar week.
Holidays and 
vacation leave.
10. Apprentices shall be entitled, in every calendar year, to:
( a ) all customary holidays with full pay, and
( b ) after three months in employment, vacation leave of
such number of working days with full pay as is
equivalent to the number of working days as that
particular apprentice should normally attend to work
during a period of four weeks:
Provided that -
(i) all apprentices who have been in employment
for less than one year shall be entitled to such
part of the said vacation leave as is in proportion
to the number of months in employment, and
(ii) vacation leave may not normally be availed of
on any day when the apprentice is required to
attend school for theoretical instruction.
Sick leave.
Cap. 318.
11. After completing the first six months of apprenticeship,
apprentices shall be entitled to twenty days sick leave on full pay in
every calendar year less any sickness benefit to which they may be
entitled under the Social Security Act:
Provided that a medical certificate certifying incapacity for
work covering the period of absence is produced to the employer,
who may require his medical practitioner to examine the
apprentice.
Bereavement 
leave.
12. Apprentices shall be allowed two days paid leave on the
DIAMOND CUTTING I
NDUSTRY SCHEME- SCHEME NO. 20 ġ S.L.343.19 3
occasion of the death of any of the following:
- the wife, husband, mother, father (or the person who at
the time was in fact acting as the mother or father as
the case may be), son, daughter, brother and sister of
the apprentice.
Injury leave.
Cap. 318.
13. An apprentice shall be entitled to one year injury leave on
full pay, less the full amount of any injury benefit to which an
apprentice may be entitled in terms of the Social Security Act, if he
is injured during the actual discharge of his duty and such injury is
not due to contributory negligence on his part or to the
contravention by him of safety rules laid down by the management.
FIRST SCHEDULE
Article 5
Calling of Diamond Girdling
( a ) Use of bruting machine
( b ) Cementing of diamonds in dops
( c ) Handling of bruting stick
( d ) Marking diamonds/Sorting diamonds for girdling
( e ) Girdling for rounding of diamonds
( f ) Use of louping glass
( g ) Assembling bruting machine
( h ) Safety precautions
Calling of Diamond Polishing
( a ) Use of louping glass
( b ) Use of polishing wheel
( c ) Handling of tangs
( d ) Use of dops for top polishing
( e ) Use of dops for bottom polishing
( f ) Use of dops for table polishing
( g ) Polishing of single cut diamonds
( h ) Polishing of full cut diamonds
( i ) Diamond powder cementing on wheel
( j ) Cementing diamonds in dops/fixing
( k ) Installing polishing wheel on machine
( l ) Safety precautions.
Calling of Diamond Sorting and Fixing
( a ) Sorting of girdled stones
( b ) Fixing stones in diamond holder pots
4 ġ S.L.343.19
DIAMOND CUTTING I
NDUSTRY SCHEME- SCHEME NO. 20
( c ) Setting diamonds on the grain
( d ) Administration and preparation of sorted diamonds.
Calling in the Discs Freparation Section
for the Processing of Diamonds
( a ) Use of:
(i) point grinding machine
(ii) scouring machine
(iii) lathe machine
(iv) balance machine
( b ) Safety precautions.
Substituted by:
L.N. 171 of 1989.
SECOND SCHEDULE
Article 8
Year: Wages per 
week
First ......................................... Lm24.55,0
Second ..................................... Lm27.22,0
Third ........................................ Lm29.90,0
Fourth ...................................... Lm32.57,0.
