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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 complained of becoming impotent, a rights group has said.

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

It stated Feronia had invested heavily in protective devices and all employees were required to wear it.

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

The company added that it had invested $360,000 (₤ 280,000) on individual protective equipment in the last three years, which employees had actually been trained to utilize, and it had actually carried out a policy needing the to be worn in the workplace.

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Feronia and its local subsidiary, Plantations et Huileries du Congo (PHC), employ countless employees at palm oil plantations 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 an essential role promoting advancement, however they are undermining their mission by stopping working to guarantee the business they finance appreciates the rights of its employees and neighborhoods on the plantations," HRW scientist Luciana Téllez-Chávez said.

What is HRW's evidence?

In a report entitled A Toxic 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 actually ended up being impotent because they started the job".

Impotence - in addition to shortness of breath, headaches, and weight reduction that the workers grumbled about - were health problems "constant with direct exposure to pesticides in general, as explained in clinical literature", HRW said.

"Many [also] experienced skin irritation, itchiness, blisters, eye problems, or blurred vision - all symptoms that follow what clinical texts and the items' labels refer to as health repercussions of direct exposure to these pesticides," the rights group included.

Ms Téllez-Chávez stated employees who had been interviewed had permeable cotton overalls - not the waterproof overalls.

"If pesticides accidentally 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 employees' homes.

The effluents formed a "foul-smelling stream", and eventually flowed into a natural pond where females and kids bathe and clean cooking utensils.

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

If uncontrolled and without treatment, effluent-dumping could eventually also cause fish to suffocate and die, or cause big developments of algae that might negatively impact the health of individuals who entered contact with polluted water or taken in tainted fish, HRW included.

The rights group also accused Feronia of paying "severe poverty" wages, saying females were the lowest-paid, with some earning as low as $7.30 a month gathering fruit.

HRW said the development banks must guarantee the businesses they invest in pay living salaries to their workers.

What is the UK development bank's response?

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

"A treatment plant for POME represents a multimillion dollar financial investment - money that the company has picked instead to invest on real estate, tidy water provision, health care and academic facilities for staff members, their families and other members of the local neighborhoods.

"It is the objective of the business to develop treatment plants for POME, however is sadly not in a financial position to do so currently as it continues to make heavy losses.

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

What does Feronia say?

The business said working conditions had improved considerably considering that the participation of the European banks in 2013.

Employees were now paid substantially more than the base pay for farming in DR Congo and the typical employee made $3.30 daily - greater than what a regional instructor would earn, it stated.

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

"Feronia operates on a social required with regional neighborhoods. Without their support we would not be able to work. We acknowledge that there is still a lot to be done and are devoted to operating to global standards. We will continue to work relentlessly to accomplish these goals," the company included a statement.

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