E/C.12/PAK/CO/1 Right to just and favourable conditions of work 41. While noting that a national labour protection framework is being developed in the State party, the Committee is concerned at the lack of comprehensive legislative or policy frameworks on labour protection (art. 7). 42. The Committee recommends that the State party ensure that the national labour protection framework currently being developed is in line with article 7 of the Covenant and other relevant international labour standards. It also recommends that the State party adopt the framework expeditiously and implement it in all provinces and territories. It draws the attention of the State party to its general comment No. 23 (2016) on the right to just and favourable conditions of work. Minimum wages 43. The Committee is concerned that the minimum wages of the State party do not cover all workers and that they vary among provinces. The Committee is also concerned that the minimum wages are not sufficient to provide workers and their families with a decent living and that the level of compliance with the minimum wages is low (art. 7). 44. The Committee recommends that the State party take all measures necessary to increase the number of workers who receive at least the minimum wage, to raise the minimum wages to ensure a decent living for all workers and their families and to strengthen the enforcement of minimum wages in all its provinces and territories. Bonded labour 45. The Committee is concerned that, despite the adoption of the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1992, the practice of bonded labour continues to exist, particularly in the brick kiln and agriculture sectors; that perpetrators of violations of the Act are rarely punished because few judges in the lower courts are aware of the Act and because of the complicity of the police; and that the lack of other means of living for workers in such situations push them back into a cycle of debt bondage (art. 7). 46. The Committee recommends that the State party take all measures necessary to tackle the root causes of bonded labour; provide victims of bonded labour with a sustainable means of living; reinforce the enforcement of the Act by strengthening labour inspections and increasing the penalties for perpetrators and public officials complicit in violations of the Act; and enhance the understanding of judges, particularly those in the lower courts, of the Act. Occupational health and safety 47. The Committee is concerned at the high frequency, and the devastating scale of, occupational accidents, including the fire at a textile factory in Karachi in 2012, which killed about 300 workers. It is also concerned at the high number of cases of occupational diseases, such as silicosis among those working for stone-crushing companies in Gujranwala. Furthermore, it is concerned at the absence of the framework legislation on occupational safety and health and the extremely small number of labour inspectors (arts. 7 and 12). 48. The Committee recommends that the State party: (a) Ensure that the draft occupational safety act is in compliance with the Covenant and other international labour norms and standards, and ensure that the act is strictly enforced once adopted; (b) Increase the number of labour inspectors, enhance their capacities and strengthen the labour inspection system; (c) Provide victims of occupational accidents and diseases with access to adequate compensation and remedies. 7