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 experienced becoming impotent, a rights group has stated.

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

The UK federal government's advancement bank, CDC, owns 38% of Feronia in DR Congo.

It said Feronia had invested greatly in protective equipment and all employees were required to wear it.

Feronia, a Canadian-based firm, stated it was devoted to operating to global standards.
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The company added that it had actually invested $360,000 (₤ 280,000) on personal protective equipment in the last three years, which employees had actually been trained to use, and it had actually implemented a policy needing the equipment to be used in the office.
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Feronia and its regional subsidiary, Plantations et Huileries du Congo (PHC), utilize thousands of employees at palm oil plantations in DR Congo.

PHC has actually received millions of dollars from the development banks of Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and the UK.
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"These banks can play a crucial role promoting advancement, however they are undermining their objective by failing to guarantee the company they finance appreciates the rights of its employees and communities on the plantations," HRW scientist Luciana Téllez-Chávez said.
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What is HRW's proof?

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

Impotence - along with shortness of breath, headaches, and weight reduction that the workers grumbled about - were illness "consistent with direct exposure to pesticides in basic, as explained in clinical literature", HRW said.
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"Many [likewise] experienced skin inflammation, irritation, blisters, eye issues, or blurred vision - all symptoms that are consistent with what clinical texts and the products' labels describe as health effects of exposure to these pesticides," the rights group added.

Ms Téllez-Chávez stated employees who had been talked to had permeable cotton overalls - not the water resistant overalls.

"If pesticides accidentally spilled, the hazardous liquid would likely touch their skin," she included.

What else does HRW state?
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At the Yaligimba plantation, the business discarded the waste from its palm oil mill beside employees' homes.

The effluents formed a "foul-smelling stream", and eventually streamed into a natural pond where women and kids shower and wash cooking utensils.

"Residents of a town of numerous hundred individuals downstream informed us the river was their only source of drinking water," Ms Téllez-Chávez stated.

If unattended and unattended, effluent-dumping might eventually also trigger fish to suffocate and pass away, or cause big developments of algae that could adversely impact the health of people who entered into contact with polluted water or consumed tainted fish, HRW added.

The rights group also implicated Feronia of paying "extreme poverty" incomes, saying women were the lowest-paid, with some earning as low as $7.30 a month gathering fruit.

HRW stated the advancement banks must ensure the businesses they buy pay living salaries to their employees.

What is the UK advancement bank's response?

In a declaration, CDC said: "Palm Oil Mill Effluent (POME) is a natural mix of natural waste oils and fats and has actually been discharged into rivers because the plantation came into being in 1911 and does not threaten human health.
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"A treatment plant for POME represents a multimillion dollar investment - cash that the business has picked instead to invest on housing, tidy water arrangement, health care and instructional centers for workers, their families and other members of the regional neighborhoods.
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"It is the objective of the business to develop treatment plants for POME, however is sadly not in a monetary position to do so presently as it continues to make heavy losses.

"In addition, the company has refurbished or dug 72 new boreholes for the provision of clean water in the last 6 years."

What does Feronia say?

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

Employees were now paid considerably more than the base pay for agriculture in DR Congo and the typical employee made $3.30 per day - higher than what a regional teacher would make, it stated.
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It also verified that it had invested substantially in access to safe drinking water.

"Feronia operates on a social mandate with regional communities. Without their assistance we would not have the ability to work. We acknowledge that there is still a lot to be done and are dedicated to operating to . We will continue to work tirelessly to attain these objectives," the company added in a declaration.

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