A/HRC/15/55* deficiencies in the targeting process have been observed. For example, even though it is expressly aimed at the poorest, it appears that only 37 per cent of recipients come from the bottom quintile of the population. Another 30 per cent belong to the second quintile.44 This indicates that, in practice, the criteria for the beneficiary selection are not being followed. The independent expert notes that the difficulties in applying selection criteria can be compounded by another feature of the programme, namely, that only 5 per cent of those identified as extremely poor in each upazilla may benefit from the programme. Features of this kind leave the decision on who among the extremely poor may have access to a programme in the hands of local administrators, without any verifiable criteria for their decision. There are also reports that, despite efforts to improve transparency and accountability, complaints of irregularities have allegedly not been reported.45 100. The independent expert welcomes the Government’s commitment to support programmes that help victims of natural disasters and the recent shocks in food prices. Mechanisms providing immediate relief in the relatively short term have been fairly effective.46 However, the independent expert calls on the Government to ensure that the programmes not only address the symptoms and consequences of vulnerability, such as reduced food intakes during monga periods, but also its root causes. The independent expert encourages the Government to strengthen its short-term relief programmes by fitting them into a larger support strategy to reinforce the resilience of vulnerable communities to shocks. 5. Decent work 101. Alongside guaranteeing with ensuring access to social services and providing social assistance, ensuring workers’ access to decent work is the third essential component of social protection. 102. The independent expert recognizes that some key challenges persist in the formal labour market, such as the lack of employment opportunities, which puts many people in competition for very few jobs. Nevertheless, there is ample room for improvement to ensure workers just and favourable conditions of work as required by article 6 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) and numerous International Labour Organization (ILO) standards. 103. International labour standards must not only be incorporated into domestic law; they should also be enforced, so that workers are able to enjoy the minimal protection to which they are already entitled, especially in small factories.47 The independent expert was informed, for example, that workplaces with fewer than 10 employees are not covered by labour protection acts. This situation calls for a number of actions, starting with the revision of outdated provisions of the labour code and the strengthening of the labour inspectorate in the Ministry of Labour. 104. There are also reports that occupational safety and health standards are poorly enforced in leading sectors of the economy, for example in the ready-made garment industry and ship recycling,48 which are likely to employ vulnerable groups (90 per cent of the 2.1 million employees in the ready-made garment industry are women. Moreover, 44 45 46 47 48 24 Ibid., p. 8. Ibid, p. vi. Ibid., p. vii. ILO, Bangladesh Decent Work Country Programme 2006–2009; ILO, UNICEF and UNESCO (2008) Child Labour and Education in Bangladesh: Evidence and Policy Recommendations. ILO, UNICEF and UNESCO (2008), op. cit. GE.10-15451