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

DR Congo workers 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 actually experienced becoming impotent, a rights group has stated.

Feronia, which controls DR Congo's palm-oil sector, had actually stopped working to provide workers sufficient protective devices, Human Rights Watch (HRW) stated.
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The UK federal government's development bank, CDC, owns 38% of Feronia in DR Congo.

It said Feronia had actually invested greatly in protective devices and all employees were required to use it.

Feronia, a Canadian-based company, stated it was devoted to running to worldwide requirements.

The company added that it had actually spent $360,000 (₤ 280,000) on personal protective equipment in the last three years, which workers had actually been trained to use, and it had actually carried out a policy requiring the devices to be worn in the office.

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Feronia and its local subsidiary, Plantations et Huileries du Congo (PHC), utilize thousands of workers at palm oil plantations in DR Congo.

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

"These banks can play an essential function promoting development, but they are sabotaging their objective by stopping working to make sure the business they fund appreciates the rights of its workers and communities on the plantations," HRW researcher Luciana Téllez-Chávez stated.
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What is HRW's evidence?

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

Impotence - together with shortness of breath, headaches, and weight reduction that the employees complained about - were health issue "consistent with exposure to pesticides in general, as explained in clinical literature", HRW stated.
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"Many [likewise] struggled with skin irritation, itching, blisters, eye issues, or blurred vision - all signs that follow what scientific texts and the items' labels explain as health effects of exposure to these pesticides," the rights group included.

Ms Téllez-Chávez said workers who had been interviewed had permeable cotton overalls - not the waterproof overalls.

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

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

The effluents formed a "foul-smelling stream", and ultimately flowed into a natural pond where females and children bathe and wash cooking utensils.

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

If unchecked and untreated, effluent-dumping could eventually also cause fish to suffocate and pass away, or cause big growths of algae that could adversely impact the health of individuals who entered into contact with polluted water or taken in tainted fish, HRW included.

The rights group likewise implicated Feronia of paying "severe poverty" salaries, stating ladies were the lowest-paid, with some earning as little as $7.30 a month gathering fruit.
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HRW said the advancement banks ought to make sure the organizations they invest in pay living wages to their employees.

What is the UK development bank's action?
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In a statement, CDC stated: "Palm Oil Mill Effluent (POME) is a natural mix of natural waste oils and fats and has actually been released 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 financial investment - cash that the company has chosen instead to invest on housing, tidy water provision, health care and educational facilities for employees, their families and other members of the regional neighborhoods.

"It is the goal of the business to develop treatment plants for POME, however is regrettably not in a financial 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 arrangement of clean water in the last six years."
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What does Feronia say?

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

Employees were now paid considerably more than the minimum wage for farming in DR Congo and the typical worker made $3.30 per day - greater than what a regional teacher would make, it stated.

It likewise confirmed that it had invested significantly in access to safe drinking water.

"Feronia operates on a social required with local neighborhoods. Without their assistance we would not be able to function. We acknowledge that there is still a good deal to be done and are dedicated to operating to worldwide standards. We will continue to work tirelessly to achieve these objectives," the company added in a statement.

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