According to United Nations principles, the adoption of fiscal consolidation programmes may be necessary for the implementation of economic and social rights. If such programmes are not implemented with full respect for human rights standards and do not take into account the obligations of States towards the rights holders, however, they may adversely affect a range of rights protected by the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Most at risk are labour rights, including the right to work (art. 6), the right to just and favourable conditions of work, including the right to fair wages and to a minimum wage that provides workers with a decent living for themselves and their families (art. 7), the right to collective bargaining (art. 8), the right to social security, including unemployment benefits, social assistance and old-age pensions (arts. 9 and 11), the right to an adequate standard of living, including the right to food and the right to housing (art. 11), the right to health and access to adequate health care (art. 12) and the right to education (arts. 13-14). Low-income families, especially those with children, and workers with the lowest qualifications are disproportionately affected by measures such as job cuts, minimum wage freezes and cutbacks in social assistance benefits, which potentially result in discrimination on the grounds of social origin or property (art. 2 (2)). Moreover, reductions in the levels of public services or the introduction of or increase in user fees in areas such as childcare, and preschool education, public utilities and family support services have a disproportionate impact on women, and thus may amount to a step backwards in terms of gender equality (arts. 3 and 10). The Committee has prepared the statement with a view to providing guidance to States parties and other actors on the scope of their obligations under the Covenant in relation to incurring debt.