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 ending up being impotent, a rights group has actually stated.

Feronia, which controls DR Congo's palm-oil sector, had stopped working to provide workers adequate protective equipment, Human Rights Watch (HRW) stated.

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

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

Feronia, a Canadian-based firm, said it was committed to operating to global requirements.

The company included that it had actually spent $360,000 (₤ 280,000) on individual protective devices in the last three years, which employees had actually been trained to utilize, and it had carried out 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 thousands of employees at palm oil plantations in DR Congo.

PHC has gotten countless 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 undermining their mission by stopping working to ensure the business they finance appreciates the rights of its workers and communities on the plantations," HRW researcher Luciana Téllez-Chávez stated.

What is HRW's proof?

In a report entitled A Hazardous Mix of Abuses on Congo's Oil Palm Plantations, external, HRW stated it had actually interviewed more than 40 workers and two-thirds of them "informed us that they had become impotent given that they began the task".

Impotence - together with shortness of breath, headaches, and weight loss that the employees complained about - were health problems "consistent with exposure to pesticides in basic, as described in scientific literature", HRW stated.

"Many [also] suffered from skin inflammation, itching, blisters, eye problems, or blurred vision - all signs that follow what clinical texts and the products' labels refer to as health repercussions of direct exposure to these pesticides," the rights group added.

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

"If pesticides inadvertently spilled, the toxic liquid would likely touch their skin," she added.

What else does HRW state?

At the Yaligimba plantation, the company dumped the waste from its palm oil mill next to workers' homes.

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

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

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

The rights group also implicated Feronia of paying "severe hardship" incomes, stating women were the lowest-paid, with some earning just $7.30 a month gathering fruit.

HRW stated the development banks must make sure the services they purchase pay living wages to their employees.

What is the UK advancement bank's action?

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

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

"It is the goal of the company to construct treatment plants for POME, but is regrettably not in a financial position to do so presently as it continues to make heavy losses.

"In addition, the business has actually reconditioned or dug 72 brand-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 significantly given that the involvement of the European banks in 2013.

Employees were now paid substantially more than the minimum wage for farming in DR Congo and the average worker made $3.30 each day - higher than what a local instructor would earn, it stated.

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

"Feronia operates on a social required with regional neighborhoods. Without their assistance we would not have the ability to operate. We identify that there is still an excellent offer to be done and are committed to running to international standards. We will continue to work relentlessly to achieve these objectives," the business included a statement.

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