E/C.12/1/Add.14 page 4 schooling at any level. This situation has lately been aggravated as a result of the decline in government expenditures relative to GDP. 16. Most of the Indian and Mestizo populations of Peru, which amount to over three quarters of the country’s total population, are extremely poor, and the Committee notes with concern the precariousness of the health situation of these people. The Committee finds that poor women with no education have a maternal mortality rate 10 times higher than that of educated women. 17. The Committee notes with concern that there are various forms of discrimination against women, particularly in the areas of education and employment. 18. The Committee is concerned that many workers do not earn the minimum wage fixed by law. It is also concerned that the minimum wage is lower than the cost of the basic shopping basket, as the Peruvian delegation itself recognized. The characterization of young people aged 16 to 25 as “apprentices” and their resulting exclusion from coverage by the relevant labour legislation is also a major source of concern to the Committee. 19. The Committee is concerned about the ineffectiveness of labour legislation to protect trade union rights, including the right to strike. As a result, despite the Government of Peru's declared policy of strengthening the labour inspection services and introducing changes to the monitoring and application of labour norms, the basic rights of workers are frequently violated. 20. The Committee is concerned that the bulk of the population is excluded from any form of social security because of the existence of a sizeable informal sector in the economy. 21. The Committee is concerned at the modification of the national pension scheme by law-decree No. 25967 and by the new legislation on the private pension scheme under law-decree No. 25897, which, according to various sources of information including ILO, have prejudiced workers’ rights. 22. The Committee is also concerned at the situation of pension rights’ cases pending since 1992, which, according to information received by the Committee, affect some 50,000 pensioners who have not received their pensions. With respect to the civil servants affected by decree No. 817, the pending cases affect 280,000 pensioners and 50,000 active workers. 23. The Committee is concerned about the high mortality rate among children and women due to the lack or inadequacy of proper health services. 24. The Committee is concerned about the large number of child workers and street children in Peru and the inadequacy of the measures taken by the Government to combat these phenomena. 25. The Committee notes with concern the high levels of illiteracy, truancy and school drop-out.