E/C.12/YEM/CO/2 The Committee recommends that the State party establish a national minimum wage, subject to regular adjustments based on a system of indexation, with a view to guaranteeing a decent living for the affected employees and their families. 14. The Committee also expresses its concern about the significant wage disparities, in particular negatively affecting women (art. 7). The Committee recommends that the State party ensure equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value, including through expressly providing relevant guarantees in the Labour Code. 15. The Committee expresses its concern that autonomous trade unions cannot be established outside the General Federation of Trade Unions of Yemen and that the holding of a strike by local-level unions requires prior authorization by the General Federation. The Committee also expresses its concern about reports of retaliatory action by private-sector employers against trade union members, as well as the general failure of the majority of employers to register their employees (art. 8). The Committee recommends that the State party amend the Trade Unions Act of 2002 in order to allow for the establishment of autonomous trade unions and their federations and to allow local-level trade unions to call a strike without authorization from the higher-level trade union bodies. The Committee furthermore recommends that the State party strengthen its efforts to prevent retaliatory action, such as transfers, demotions and dismissals, by privatesector employers against union members. The Committee also recommends that the State party ensure that all employers register their employees, to ensure compliance with social security and labour union regulations. 16. The Committee notes with concern that the Social Welfare Fund benefit levels, in particular pension levels, are not sufficient to ensure an adequate standard of living for recipients and their families. The Committee is also concerned about the reported misappropriation of social insurance benefits by State officials or tribal leaders (art. 9). The Committee recommends that the State party strengthen efforts and use available resources to increase the budgetary allocations for the social security system, including social assistance benefits, with a view to ensuring an adequate standard of living for the recipients. The Committee also recommends that the State party step up its efforts to combat corruption and misappropriation of State funds in the area of social security, including social insurance benefits, and prosecute those responsible. 17. The Committee continues to be concerned about the prevalence of domestic violence, including sexual harassment of women and children in the State party, and about the reported difficulties for victims in filing complaints and seeking redress following such abuse (art. 10). The Committee recommends that the State party immediately promulgate the Domestic Violence Act No. 6 of 2008 and thereby criminalize domestic violence and marital rape, prosecute offenders and provide protection for victims of domestic violence, including through expanding the number, coverage and capacity of shelters. The Committee also recommends that the State party make intensive efforts to raise awareness among police officers, prosecutors, judges, social workers and the general public of domestic violence. The Committee further recommends that the State party strengthen its research and data collection capacity on domestic violence and provide detailed information on this in its next periodic report, together with information on the 4