DR Congo workers for Feronia made impotent by pesticides - HRW

25 November 2019

to pesticides at a UK-funded firm in the Democratic Republic of Congo have experienced becoming impotent, a rights group has actually said.

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

It said Feronia had invested heavily in protective devices and all workers were required to use it.

Feronia, a Canadian-based company, stated it was dedicated to running to worldwide standards.

The firm included that it had spent $360,000 (₤ 280,000) on personal protective equipment in the last 3 years, which workers had actually been trained to use, and it had actually carried out a policy needing the devices to be used 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 received countless dollars from the advancement banks of Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and the UK.

"These banks can play an essential function promoting development, however they are sabotaging their objective by stopping working to make sure the business they finance appreciates the rights of its workers and neighborhoods on the plantations," HRW scientist Luciana Téllez-Chávez stated.

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 interviewed more than 40 employees and two-thirds of them "told us that they had become impotent considering that they started the task".
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Impotence - in addition to shortness of breath, headaches, and weight loss that the employees grumbled about - were health problems "constant with direct exposure to pesticides in basic, as described in scientific literature", HRW said.
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"Many [likewise] suffered from skin irritation, itching, blisters, eye problems, or blurred vision - all signs 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 said employees who had been spoken with had permeable cotton overalls - not the waterproof overalls.

"If pesticides mistakenly spilled, the poisonous liquid would likely touch their skin," she added.
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What else does HRW state?
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At the Yaligimba plantation, the company dumped the waste from its palm oil mill beside workers' homes.

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

If untreated and neglected, effluent-dumping might eventually likewise cause fish to suffocate and pass away, or trigger big growths of algae that could negatively impact the health of individuals who came into contact with contaminated water or consumed tainted fish, HRW added.

The rights group likewise accused Feronia of paying "extreme poverty" salaries, saying women were the lowest-paid, with some earning as little as $7.30 a month gathering fruit.

HRW stated the development banks need to ensure business they buy pay living earnings to their employees.

What is the UK development bank's response?
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In a declaration, CDC stated: "Palm Oil Mill Effluent (POME) is a natural mix of natural waste oils and fats and has been released into rivers given that the plantation entered remaining in 1911 and does not threaten human health.

"A treatment plant for POME represents a multimillion dollar investment - cash that the business has picked instead to invest in real estate, clean water provision, healthcare and academic facilities for employees, their households and other members of the regional neighborhoods.
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"It is the goal of the business to construct treatment plants for POME, however is regrettably not in a monetary position to do so presently as it continues to make heavy losses.

"In addition, the business has actually reconditioned or dug 72 new boreholes for the arrangement of clean water in the last 6 years."
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What does Feronia say?
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The company stated working conditions had actually enhanced substantially since the involvement of the European banks in 2013.

Employees were now paid significantly more than the minimum wage for agriculture in DR Congo and the average employee made $3.30 each day - higher than what a local teacher would make, it stated.
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It also verified that it had actually invested significantly in access to safe drinking water.
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"Feronia operates on a social mandate with local communities. Without their assistance we would not have the ability to work. We recognise that there is still a lot to be done and are committed to operating to global requirements. We will continue to work tirelessly to achieve these objectives," the company included in a declaration.

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