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 company in the Democratic Republic of Congo have suffered ending up being impotent, a rights group has said.
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Feronia, which dominates DR Congo's palm-oil sector, had actually failed to offer employees appropriate protective equipment, Human Rights Watch (HRW) stated.

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

It said Feronia had actually invested heavily in and all workers were needed to wear it.

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

The firm included that it had spent $360,000 (₤ 280,000) on personal protective devices in the last 3 years, which workers had actually been trained to utilize, and it had actually carried out a policy needing the equipment to be used in the workplace.
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Feronia and its local subsidiary, Plantations et Huileries du Congo (PHC), utilize thousands of employees at palm oil plantations in DR Congo.

PHC has received countless dollars from the advancement banks of Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and the UK.

"These banks can play a crucial function promoting advancement, but they are sabotaging their mission by stopping working to make sure the business they finance appreciates the rights of its employees and neighborhoods on the plantations," HRW scientist Luciana Téllez-Chávez stated.

What is HRW's evidence?

In a report entitled A Toxic Mix of Abuses on Congo's Oil Palm Plantations, external, HRW stated it had interviewed more than 40 workers and two-thirds of them "informed us that they had actually ended up being impotent since they started the task".
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Impotence - in addition to shortness of breath, headaches, and weight loss that the workers complained about - were health problems "consistent with exposure to pesticides in general, as explained in clinical literature", HRW stated.

"Many [also] experienced skin irritation, itching, blisters, eye problems, or blurred vision - all signs that are constant with what clinical texts and the products' labels describe as health effects of direct exposure to these pesticides," the rights group added.

Ms Téllez-Chávez stated workers who had been interviewed had permeable cotton overalls - not the water resistant overalls.

"If pesticides mistakenly spilled, the hazardous liquid would likely touch their skin," she added.

What else does HRW say?

At the Yaligimba plantation, the business disposed the waste from its palm oil mill beside workers' homes.

The effluents formed a "foul-smelling stream", and eventually flowed into a natural pond where ladies and children bathe and wash cooking utensils.
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"Residents of a town of several hundred people downstream told us the river was their only source of drinking water," Ms Téllez-Chávez said.

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

The rights group also accused Feronia of paying "extreme poverty" earnings, saying ladies were the lowest-paid, with some earning as little as $7.30 a month event fruit.

HRW said the advancement banks must make sure the businesses they purchase pay living incomes to their employees.
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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 released into rivers considering that 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 financial investment - cash that the company has actually chosen rather to invest in real estate, clean water arrangement, health care and instructional facilities for employees, their families and other members of the local communities.

"It is the objective of the business to develop treatment plants for POME, however is unfortunately not in a monetary position to do so currently as it continues to make heavy losses.
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"In addition, the company has actually refurbished or dug 72 brand-new boreholes for the provision of clean water in the last 6 years."

What does Feronia state?
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The business said working conditions had enhanced substantially given that 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 typical worker earned $3.30 each day - greater than what a local teacher would make, it said.
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It likewise verified that it had invested considerably in access to safe drinking water.

"Feronia operates on a social required with local neighborhoods. Without their support we would not be able to operate. We identify that there is still an excellent offer to be done and are committed to operating to worldwide requirements. We will continue to work relentlessly to attain these goals," the company included a declaration.
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