E/C.12/TJK/CO/2-3 The Committee recommends that the indicators used to calculate the minimum wage, pensions, benefits and other social payments be increased and reviewed periodically so as to ensure an adequate standard of living for recipients and their families. The Committee also recommends that the State party pay careful consideration to the proposed new unified pension system, taking all the necessary measures to ensure equal access of women to it, in line with article 3 of the Covenant on the equal rights of men and women to the enjoyment of all economic, social and cultural rights. Tajik migrant workers 22. The Committee is concerned that Tajik migrant workers, particularly those in an irregular situation, often do not have access to education, health care or a social protection system in the countries of employment and are exposed to labour exploitation, and that the State party does not provide them with sufficient protection in this respect (arts. 6, 7 and 10). The Committee recommends that the State party: (a) Establish mechanisms to regulate labour migration and protect its migrant workers; (b) Strengthen consular support and protection for its nationals through increasing the human and financial resources allocated to its embassies and consulates as well as its migration services in the countries of employment; (c) Step up its efforts to provide strong labour and social protection for Tajik migrant workers and their families, including through bilateral agreements on the organized temporary recruitment of citizens of Tajikistan and on pension entitlements; (d) Provide counselling and legal advice to potential migrant workers on migration regulations and employment conditions in countries of employment; (e) Integrate a gender perspective in its labour migration policies, paying special attention to the needs of women migrant workers, as well as of families of migrant workers left behind in Tajikistan. 23. The Committee is concerned that, while a large number of Tajik migrant workers have been deported from and denied re-entry to their countries of employment, the State party has not provided sufficient measures to assist them upon their return. The Committee recommends that the State party take the necessary steps to support returning migrant workers, including measures aimed at reintegrating them into the labour market in the State party by increasing professional training and creating job opportunities. Child labour 24. The Committee is concerned that a large number of children (approximately 200,000), mostly from single-parent families and migrant worker families, are involved in child labour, and that 13 per cent of them are working in dangerous conditions and 10 per cent never attend school. The Committee recommends that the State party intensify its efforts to prevent and combat child labour, including through labour inspections in the agriculture and informal sectors, as well as by ensuring that employers who exploit child labour are held accountable, with particular emphasis on the prosecution of those involved in cases of hazardous work and the worst forms of child labour. 7

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