WOODWORKING INDUSTRY SCHEME - SCHEME NO. 1 ġ S.L.343.01 1
SUBSIDIARY LEGISLATION 343.01
WOODWORKING INDUSTRY SCHEME
- SCHEME NO. 1
2nd May, 1952
GOVERNMENT NOTICE 213 of 1952, as amended by Government
Notices 114 and 523 of 1953, and 209 of 1957, Act XLIV of 1965, and
Legal Notices 32 of 1967, 119 of 1969, 47 and 77 of 1970, 124 of 1976, 61
and 86 of 1977, 51 of 1978 and 80 of 1979.
Citation. 
Scheme - Scheme No. 1.
Interpretation.
Cap. 343.
2. In this scheme, unless the context otherwise requires, the
words and expressions used shall have the same meanings as those
assigned to them in the Employment and Training Services Act.
Applicability.
cabinet-maker in any factory.
Employment as 
apprentice.
Amended by:
XLIV. 1965.4.
Substituted by:
L.N. 61 of 1977;
L.N. 51 of 1978.
4. No person may be employed as an apprentice under this
scheme unless it is shown to the satisfaction of the Director that
such person has either completed the fourth year of a Secondary
School or the full Trade School Course.
Processes to be 
learnt.
5. Employers engaging apprentices under this scheme shall
undertake to teach them and to grant them facilities to learn the
following processes:
( a ) Joiner - woodcutting, plaining, mortising, dove-tailing
and tenoning by hand and/or machines used in the
calling, care of machines and/or tools; recognition of
timber; staining and primary painting; making of
windows, doors, cupboards, boxes and other fitments;
the making of working drawings and interpretation of
drawing used in the calling; safety precautions;
( b ) Cabinet-maker - of soft and hard woods, plaining,
mortising, dovetailing, tenoning, and simple moulding
by hand and/or machines used in the calling; care of
machines and/or tools; recognition of timber; staining
and primary painting; making of cupboards, chests,
tables, chairs, bedroom furniture and other items of
furniture; history and styles of furniture; finishing and
polishing; the making of working drawings and
interpretation of drawings used in the calling; safety
precautions.
Period of 
apprenticeship.
Amended by:
XLIV. 1965.4;
L.N. 119 of 1969.
6. The period of apprenticeship shall be of six years:
Provided that six months shall be deducted from the said
period of six years, to a total deduction of not more than two years,
in respect of:
(i) each year of attendance by the prospective
apprentice following the attainment by him of
2 ġ S.L.343.01 WOODWORKING INDUSTRY SCHEME - SCHEME NO. 1
the twelfth year of his age, at any woodworking
course in a Government technical day-school, in
St. Joseph Institute, Hamrun, or in any other
technical or trade school or institute of
comparable standard approved by the Minister,
such attendance being certified as satisfactory
by the Director of the school or institution
concerned; and
(ii) each year or learnership in either of the callings
of joiner or cabinet-maker undergone by the
prospective candidate with the permission of the
Director:
Provided that in respect of contracts of apprenticeship
entered into after the first day of January, 1970, for the words "six
years" wherever they occur in this article, there shall be substituted
the words "five years". 
Apprenticeship in 
one calling.
7. A person who has completed his apprenticeship in one
calling shall be credited with four years towards a period of a
subsequent apprenticeship in respect of the other calling covered by
this scheme.
Wages.
Amended by:
G.N. 523 of 1953.
Substituted by:
G.N. 209 of 1957;
L.N. 32 of 1967;
L.N. 119 of 1969;
L.N. 124 of 1976;
L.N. 61 of 1977;
L.N. 80 of 1979.
8. The wages payable to apprentices in the callings to which
this scheme applies shall be as follows:
Hours of work.
Added by:
L.N. 119 of 1969.
Substituted by:
L.N. 47 of 1970.
9. (1) The hours of work of apprentices employed under this
scheme shall not exceed nine hours in any one day:
Provided that employers may employ apprentices on
overtime work 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 nine hours daily: time
and a half;
( b ) for all time worked in excess of forty-five 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. of any one day and 6 a.m. of the next following
day.
Overtime.
Substituted by:
G.N. 209 of 1957.
10. The wage rates specified in article 8 shall be related to a
week of forty-eight (48) hours of work, exclusive of overtime and
of breaks for mealtimes and rest. Overtime shall be payable as
follows:
Year Wages per week
First Lm 10.55,0
Second Lm 12.55,0
Third Lm 14.56,0
Fourth Lm 16.57,0
Fifth Lm 18.57,0.
WOODWORKING INDUSTRY SCHEME - SCHEME NO. 1 ġ S.L.343.01 3
( a ) for work in excess of nine (9) hours on any day -
time-and-a-half;
( b ) for work in excess of forty-eight hours in any week
exclusive of any time paid for at overtime rates -
time-and-a-half:
Provided that in any week which includes a Holy Day of
Obligation, Good Friday or the 8th of September, overtime at
time-and-a-half shall be payable for work in excess of forty (40)
hours, exclusive of any time paid for at overtime rates.
For the purposes of this article time-and-a-half means one
and a half times the rate applicable to the apprentice.
Classes of 
instruction.
Amended by:
G.N. 114 of 1953;
G.N. 209 of 1957.
11. The employer shall afford to any apprentice employed by
him under this scheme facilities for attending during the period of
apprenticeship such classes of instruction as the Minister may by
order determine. Such classes shall not take up more than ten hours
in any one week, and if such classes are held during ordinary
working hours, the hours so spent shall be reckoned as hours of
employment for the purpose of the payment of wages.
The apprentice shall be bound to attend all classes
determined as aforesaid. Should he fail so to attend 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.
Periods of rest.
Substituted by:
L.N. 119 of 1969;
L.N. 80 of 1979.
12. Apprentices shall be granted one whole day of rest in every
calendar week.
Vacation leave.
Added by:
L.N. 119 of 1969.
Substituted by:
L.N. 77 of 1970;
L.N. 86 of 1977.
13. 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 -
( a ) 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
( b ) vacation leave may not normally be availed of on any
day when the apprentice is required to attend school
for theoretical instruction..
Sick leave.
Added by:
L.N. 119 of 1969.
Cap. 318.
14. (1) 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,
4 ġ S.L.343.01 WOODWORKING INDUSTRY SCHEME - SCHEME NO. 1
who may require his medical practitioner to examine the
apprentice.
(2) Apprentices shall not be entitled to the payment of any
wages for the first three days of every period of sick leave:
Provided that the number of unpaid days of sick leave shall
not be deducted from the entitlement of paid sick leave.
Bereavement 
leave.
Added by:
L.N. 119 of 1969.
15. Apprentices shall be allowed two days paid leave on 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), son, daughter, brother and sister of the apprentice.
Customary 
holidays.
Added by:
L.N. 119 of 1969.
Amended by:
L.N. 124 of 1976.
Substituted by:
L.N. 61 of 1977.
Cap. 252.
16. In this scheme "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.
Injury leave.
Added by:
L.N. 80 of 1979.
Cap. 318.
17. 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 contravention
by him of safety rules laid down by the management.
