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 firm in the Democratic Republic of Congo have complained of becoming impotent, a rights group has actually stated.

Feronia, which controls DR Congo's palm-oil sector, had failed to offer workers sufficient protective equipment, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said.

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 equipment and all workers were needed to wear it.
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Feronia, a Canadian-based company, said it was dedicated to operating to international requirements.
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The firm added that it had spent $360,000 (₤ 280,000) on individual protective devices in the last 3 years, which employees had actually been trained to utilize, and it had implemented a policy needing the devices to be worn in the workplace.
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Feronia and its local subsidiary, Plantations et Huileries du Congo (PHC), use countless employees at palm oil in DR Congo.

PHC has actually gotten millions of dollars from the advancement banks of Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and the UK.

"These banks can play a crucial role promoting development, however they are undermining their mission by stopping working to ensure the business they finance appreciates the rights of its workers and neighborhoods on the plantations," HRW scientist Luciana Téllez-Chávez stated.
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What is HRW's proof?

In a report entitled A Harmful Mix of Abuses on Congo's Oil Palm Plantations, external, HRW said it had talked to more than 40 workers and two-thirds of them "informed us that they had ended up being impotent because they began the job".

Impotence - in addition to shortness of breath, headaches, and weight loss that the workers complained about - were illness "consistent with direct exposure to pesticides in general, as described in clinical literature", HRW said.

"Many [also] experienced skin inflammation, irritation, blisters, eye issues, or blurred vision - all signs that follow what clinical texts and the items' labels refer to as health effects of direct exposure to these pesticides," the rights group included.
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Ms Téllez-Chávez stated workers who had been talked to had permeable cotton overalls - not the water resistant overalls.
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"If pesticides accidentally spilled, the poisonous liquid would likely touch their skin," she added.

What else does HRW say?
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At the Yaligimba plantation, the company dumped the waste from its palm oil mill beside workers' homes.

The effluents formed a "foul-smelling stream", and ultimately streamed into a natural pond where females and children bathe and wash cooking utensils.
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"Residents of a village of numerous hundred individuals downstream informed us the river was their only source of drinking water," Ms Téllez-Chávez stated.

If untreated and unattended, effluent-dumping could eventually also trigger fish to suffocate and pass away, or trigger large growths of algae that might negatively affect the health of individuals who entered into contact with polluted water or consumed tainted fish, HRW included.
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The rights group also implicated Feronia of paying "severe hardship" earnings, stating ladies were the lowest-paid, with some earning as low as $7.30 a month gathering fruit.

HRW said the advancement banks must guarantee business they purchase pay living salaries to their employees.

What is the UK development bank's action?

In a statement, CDC said: "Palm Oil Mill Effluent (POME) is a natural mix of natural waste oils and fats and has been released into rivers considering that the plantation entered into being in 1911 and does not threaten human health.

"A treatment plant for POME represents a multimillion dollar investment - cash that the company has actually picked instead to invest in real estate, tidy water arrangement, health care and educational facilities for employees, their households and other members of the local communities.

"It is the aim of the business to develop treatment plants for POME, however is regrettably 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 brand-new boreholes for the arrangement of tidy water in the last 6 years."
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What does Feronia say?

The business stated working conditions had enhanced considerably since the involvement of the European banks in 2013.
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Employees were now paid significantly more than the base pay for farming in DR Congo and the average worker made $3.30 daily - greater than what a local teacher would make, it stated.

It also verified that it had invested substantially in access to safe drinking water.

"Feronia runs on a social mandate with local communities. Without their assistance we would not have the ability to work. We identify that there is still an excellent offer to be done and are devoted to operating to worldwide standards. We will continue to work relentlessly to attain these objectives," the business included a statement.
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