A/HRC/31/32 low productivity, low aggregate demand and low job creation. 69 According to the 2008 ILO Declaration, the importance of the employment relationship should be recognized as a means of providing legal protection to workers. In order to ensure equal protection of the law, the State must take measures to compel employers to respect labour legislation and declare their employees, thus enabling the latter to enjoy all the rights of workers.70 46. Articles 6, 7 and 8 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Right are strongly interdependent. For instance, a decent living wage, 71 safe and healthy working conditions,72 rest, leisure and limitation of working time,73 freedom to form and join trade unions and collective bargaining are key elements of the right to work. While dealing exhaustively with all aspects of articles 7 and 8 is beyond the scope of the present report, it is important to highlight certain aspects to demonstrate just and favourable conditions as an integral part of the right to work. 2. Mechanisms for promoting formalization 47. Approximately 60 per cent of jobs are in the informal economy and unevenly distributed around the world. 74 Formalization is the first step to decent work. To attain this, States parties must take the requisite measures, legislative or otherwise, to reduce to the fullest extent possible the number of workers outside the formal economy, workers who as a result of that situation have no protection.75 Such measures include laws, policies and programmes to deal with the factors responsible for informality, to extend protection to all workers and to remove the barriers to entry into the mainstream economy. 76 In accordance with Recommendation No. 204, they should encompass an integrated policy framework with strategies adapted to the unique situation of each country. This includes preventive and sanctioning mechanisms that reinforce labour inspections and monitoring mechanisms;77 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 ILO, World Employment and Social Outlook 2015. General comment No. 18, para. 10. Universal Declaration, art. 23 (3); International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, art. 7 (a) (ii). International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, art. 7 (ii) (b). See general comment No. 18, para. 7. In its contribution France stresses that national legislation and jurisprudence affirm the employer’s obligation not only to prevent accidents and occupational diseases but also to ensure the health of workers, involving all the risks they may be exposed to, including psychosocial risks. International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, art. 7 (ii) (d). ILO, World Employment and Social Outlook 2015. See also the Transition from the Informal to the Formal Economy Recommendation, 2015 (No. 204), paras. 2-5. Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, general comment No. 18, para. 10. The Committee has expressed concern about the high percentages of workers in the informal economy and recommended extending social protection to include them. See concluding observations on Bosnia and Herzegovina (E/C.12/BIH/CO/2), Monaco (E/C.12/MCO/CO/2-3), Ukraine (E/C.12/UKR/CO/6), the Republic of Moldova (E/C.12/MDA/CO/2, the Russian Federation (E/C.12/RUS/CO/5), Serbia (E/C.12/SRB/CO/2), Armenia (E/C.12/ARM/CO/2-3), Paraguay (E/C.12/PRY/CO/4), Brazil (E/C.12/BRA/CO/2), Colombia (E/C.12/COL/CO/5), Costa Rica (E/C.12/CRI/CO/4), the Dominican Republic (E/C.12/DOM/CO/3), Ecuador (E/C.12/ECU/CO/3), Mexico (E/C.12/MEX/CO/4), Nicaragua (E/C.12/NIC/CO/4), Egypt (E/C.12/EGY/CO/2-4), Ethiopia (E/C.12/ETH/CO/1-3), Mauritania (E/C.12/MRT/CO/1), Rwanda (E/C.12/RWA/CO/2-4), the United Republic of Tanzania (E/C.12/TZA/CO/1-3), Cambodia (E/C.12/KHM/CO/1), China (E/C.12/CHN/CO/2), Indonesia (E/C.12/IDN/CO/1) and the Islamic Republic of Iran (E/C.12/IRN/CO/2). Resolution concerning decent work and the informal economy adopted by the ILO General Conference (2002), para. 21. The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights was concerned at the lack of any form of monitoring of conditions of work in the informal economy and at the absence of opportunity for social security affiliation for workers therein (concluding observations on Mauritania (E/C.12/MRT/CO/1), para. 14). 13