E/C.12/MEX/CO/4 page 5 31. The Committee recommends that the State party ensure that wages fixed by the National Wages Commission or negotiated between workers and employers secure for all workers and employees, in particular women and indigenous workers, a decent living for themselves and their families, in accordance with article 7 (a) (ii) of the Covenant. 32. The Committee urges the State party to take effective measures to improve the working conditions of indigenous workers by, inter alia, adopting and/or implementing relevant legislation, enforcing the Federal Act for the Prevention and Elimination of Discrimination and corresponding state legislation, increasing the number and effectiveness of labour inspections in indigenous communities, and by sanctioning employers who violate minimum labour standards. 33. The Committee urges the State party to amend the Federal Labour Act or other legislation, with a view to prohibiting the practice of requiring non-pregnancy certificates from women as a condition of employment and to sanction employers who fail to comply with these provisions. 34. The Committee recommends that the State party review its labour legislation with a view to removing any restrictions on trade union rights other than those necessary in a democratic society in the interest of national security or public order or for the protection of the rights and freedoms of others. It reiterates its request that the State party consider withdrawing its interpretative statement to article 8 of the Covenant and ratifying ILO Convention No. 98 (1949) on the Right to Organize and Collective Bargaining. The Committee urges the State party to implement the judgements of the Supreme Court of Mexico declaring illegal the imposition of a trade union monopoly in the public sector and the “exclusionary clause” providing that only members of the existing union at the workplace may be hired by public or private employers. It also recommends that the State party extend the competence of the National and State Human Rights Commissions to include considering alleged violations of labour rights, and to implement the recommendations concerning trade union freedom contained in the “Diagnosis on the human rights situation in Mexico” elaborated by the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in Mexico. 35. The Committee recommends that the State party undertake a careful evaluation of the modifications proposed to the current retirement system through the Act concerning the Social Security and Services Institute for State Workers and of future modifications to other social security systems. This should ensure that such modifications do not lead to job insecurity for future pensioners nor to a decrease in the amount of their future pensions that would preclude them from enjoying an adequate standard of living. 36. The Committee urges the State party to extend the eligibility criteria for access to unemployment benefits in order to include all unemployed persons. 37. The Committee urges the State party to take all necessary measures to provide social assistance to those who are presently without any protection, with a view to enabling persons and families in need, including informal sector workers and other disadvantaged and marginalized individuals and families, to live a life in dignity.

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