dr-congo-workers-for-feronia-made-impotent-by-pesticides---hrw

DR Congo employees for Feronia made impotent by pesticides - HRW

25 November 2019

Workers exposed to pesticides at a UK-funded company in the Democratic Republic of Congo have experienced becoming impotent, a rights group has actually stated.

Feronia, which dominates DR Congo's palm-oil sector, had stopped working to provide employees appropriate protective devices, Human Rights Watch (HRW) stated.

The UK government's development bank, CDC, owns 38% of Feronia in DR Congo.
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It said Feronia had invested greatly in protective devices and all employees were needed to use it.

Feronia, a Canadian-based company, stated it was devoted to running to worldwide standards.
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The firm added that it had actually invested $360,000 (₤ 280,000) on personal protective equipment in the last three years, which workers had actually been trained to use, and it had carried out a policy needing the devices to be used in the work environment.

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Feronia and its regional subsidiary, Plantations et Huileries du Congo (PHC), use thousands of employees at palm oil plantations in DR Congo.

PHC has received millions of dollars from the development banks of Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and the UK.

"These banks can play an important function promoting advancement, but they are sabotaging their mission by failing to make sure the company they finance appreciates the rights of its workers and communities on the plantations," HRW researcher Luciana Téllez-Chávez stated.

What is HRW's evidence?

In a report entitled A Hazardous Mix of Abuses on Congo's Oil Palm Plantations, external, HRW said it had interviewed more than 40 employees and two-thirds of them "told us that they had become impotent because they started the task".

Impotence - along with shortness of breath, headaches, and weight reduction that the employees grumbled about - were health issue "consistent with direct exposure to pesticides in general, as described in clinical literature", HRW stated.
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"Many [likewise] suffered from skin inflammation, itchiness, blisters, eye issues, or blurred vision - all symptoms that follow what scientific texts and the products' labels explain as health consequences of direct exposure to these pesticides," the rights group added.

Ms said employees who had actually been talked to had permeable cotton overalls - not the waterproof overalls.
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"If pesticides mistakenly spilled, the toxic liquid would likely touch their skin," she included.

What else does HRW say?
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At the Yaligimba plantation, the business discarded the waste from its palm oil mill next to employees' homes.
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The effluents formed a "foul-smelling stream", and ultimately flowed into a natural pond where females and kids shower and wash cooking utensils.

"Residents of a village of several hundred people downstream told us the river was their only source of drinking water," Ms Téllez-Chávez said.

If unattended and untreated, effluent-dumping could ultimately also trigger fish to suffocate and pass away, or trigger big developments of algae that might negatively affect the health of people who came into contact with contaminated water or taken in tainted fish, HRW included.

The rights group likewise implicated Feronia of paying "severe hardship" wages, saying females were the lowest-paid, with some earning as little as $7.30 a month event fruit.

HRW stated the advancement banks must make sure business they invest in pay living incomes to their workers.

What is the UK development bank's response?
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In a statement, CDC said: "Palm Oil Mill Effluent (POME) is an organic mix of natural waste oils and fats and has actually been discharged into rivers because the plantation came into remaining in 1911 and does not threaten human health.

"A treatment plant for POME represents a multimillion dollar investment - money that the business has chosen instead to invest in real estate, clean water arrangement, healthcare and academic facilities for employees, their families and other members of the local neighborhoods.

"It is the aim of the company to develop treatment plants for POME, but is sadly not in a monetary position to do so presently as it continues to make heavy losses.

"In addition, the business has refurbished or dug 72 new boreholes for the arrangement of tidy water in the last 6 years."

What does Feronia say?

The business stated working conditions had actually enhanced substantially since the participation of the European banks in 2013.

Employees were now paid considerably more than the minimum wage for farming in DR Congo and the average employee made $3.30 per day - greater than what a local teacher would earn, it stated.

It also validated that it had invested considerably in access to safe drinking water.

"Feronia operates on a social required with regional communities. Without their assistance we would not be able to operate. We identify that there is still a lot to be done and are committed to running to worldwide requirements. We will continue to work relentlessly to achieve these objectives," the company added in a statement.

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