E/C.12/MEX/CO/4 page 3 13. The Committee is concerned about the low minimum wages in the State party, especially as regards women and indigenous workers. 14. The Committee is deeply concerned about the poor working conditions of indigenous workers, who are frequently underpaid or not paid at all, receive no social security benefits or paid vacations, and often work on daily contracts or as unpaid family members. 15. The Committee reiterates its concern about the practice of employers in the maquiladora (textile) industry to require women to present non-pregnancy certificates in order to be hired or to avoid being dismissed. 16. The Committee expresses its concern about the severe restrictions in the Federal Labour Law and in the Federal Law for State Workers on the right to form and join trade unions, such as trade union monopolies, exclusionary clauses, minimum age and membership requirements and provisions on the cancellation of trade unions in the public sector. The Committee is also concerned about restrictions on the right of trade unions to establish national federations or confederations and on the right to strike. 17. The Committee is concerned that the State party’s unemployment benefit scheme only covers cessation of employment at an “advanced age”. 18. The Committee notes with concern that, in spite of the “Seguro Popular” programme, approximately half of the population of the State party is not entitled to social security or social assistance. 19. The Committee, while acknowledging the various legislative projects and policies that are currently under adoption in the State party to combat domestic violence, remains deeply concerned about the high rate of domestic violence against women and children and about the fact that the definition of incest in the laws of a number of federated states does not adequately protect victims of incest, especially children. 20. The Committee notes the absence of disaggregated information in the State party’s report concerning the incidence of trafficking of women and children in Mexico. 21. The Committee notes with concern that the minimum age for marriage in many states of the State party is 14 years for girls and 16 years for boys, subject to the parents’ consent, and that the age of sexual consent is only 12 years for girls and boys. 22. The Committee is concerned about the high percentage of children below the age of 16 who are engaged in child labour, primarily in the agricultural and industrial sectors where they reportedly often work under poor and hazardous conditions. 23. The Committee reiterates its deep concern that, despite the State party’s efforts to reduce poverty, more than 40 million people continue to live in poverty, in particular members of indigenous communities and other disadvantaged and marginalized individuals and groups, such as indigenous women, agricultural workers, workers in the informal sector, and older persons. The Committee is equally concerned about the unequal distribution of wealth between the northern and southern states of the State party and between rural and urban areas.