A/HRC/44/43/Add.2 53. The Working Group was informed of serious violations of the rights to freedom of association and to collective bargaining, including the right to create and join trade unions freely and without fear of reprisals. It heard about cases of harassment and violence against union members and leaders, of anti-union retaliation, union dissolution, and undue employer interference with the right to associate and bargain collectively. In January and February 2018 alone, trade unions registered acts of violence against 13 trade unionists, including six women, in the education, agroindustry and public sectors (A/HRC/40/3/Add.2, para. 16). 54. The minimum age of 14 years for the employment of children (with parental consent) and the pervasiveness of child labour practices, with more than 400,000 children forced to work to survive,14 is also a matter of urgent concern. Since 2018, the State made significant efforts to eliminate the worst forms of child labour and trafficking in persons for labour exploitation, including through the introduction of more severe penalties for human trafficking; the reactivation, in 2019, of the National Commission for the Gradual Elimination of Child Labour in Honduras; and the establishment of the Interagency Commission to Combat Commercial Sexual Exploitation and Human Trafficking, both tasked to monitor and implement the related Strategic Plans. 55. The regulatory and oversight framework remains inadequate to eliminate child labour in all economic sectors, particularly in the fishing, mining and domestic work sectors. 56. With regard to the minimum wage, some progress has been achieved through social dialogue, which led to, in 1 January 2019, an increase in the minimum wage for 2019 and 2020.15 Concerns persist, however, that such increases will be insufficient to ensure a decent standard of living for workers and their families. The Working Group is also concerned about information regarding a significant number of workers in Honduras earning less than the minimum wage. 57. On a cautiously positive note, the Working Group learned that the increase in the number of trade unions and in meaningful dialogue between employers and unions in the maquila sector have led to some improvements. The sector employs approximately 200,000 people (mostly women), and has more than 300 registered maquilas. Working conditions in maquilas remain hazardous and precarious, in particular for women, with extensive working hours and repetitive physical movements that have a significant impact on their physical and mental health. A number of representatives of different economic sectors informed the Working Group of their satisfaction with the work of the multi-stakeholder Economic and Social Council, a mechanism designed to assist the Government in promoting social dialogue. 58. In meetings with civil society organizations, the Working Group learned that workers who had been diagnosed with serious occupational diseases (such as irreversible musculoskeletal disorders) had been dismissed, without consideration of other possible measures, such as reassignment. Women worker organizations had called urgently for the reassignment of workers suffering from disabilities caused by repetitive movement. They also reported long working shifts, averaging 12 hours, for four consecutive days, followed by a rest period of four days (called the “4X4” system). During the post-electoral crisis, several companies imposed double shifts on their workers, exposing them to hazardous situations, such gender-based violence when commuting to and from work. The minimum wage in the maquila sector is the second lowest in the country. 59. The labour conditions in the underwater fishing industry in La Mosquitia is a particularly grave example of labour rights abuses, which include exploitative working conditions of indigenous Miskito peoples and lack of proper oversight (CERC/C/HND/CO/68, paras. 26–27). The Working Group was shocked to learn that, on 3 July 2019, only a few weeks before its visit, at least 27 fishermen had died, nine had disappeared and 55 had to be rescued when two lobster fishing boats sank off the Mosquitia coast, most probably because of excessive weight and overcrowding. According to the information received, none of the families received any form of compensation for their loss. 14 15 10 Ibid. www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=NORMLEXPUB:13101:0::NO::P13101_ COMMENT_ID:3297680.