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

DR Congo employees for Feronia made impotent by pesticides - HRW
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25 November 2019
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Workers exposed to pesticides at a UK-funded firm in the Democratic Republic of Congo have actually experienced becoming impotent, a rights group has said.

Feronia, which dominates DR Congo's palm-oil sector, had stopped working to offer employees adequate protective equipment, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said.

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

It stated Feronia had actually invested greatly in protective equipment and all employees were needed to use it.

Feronia, a Canadian-based company, stated it was devoted to operating to international standards.

The company included that it had invested $360,000 (₤ 280,000) on individual protective equipment in the last 3 years, which employees had been trained to use, and it had actually executed a policy needing the equipment to be worn in the office.

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

PHC has gotten countless dollars from the development banks of Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and the UK.
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"These banks can play a crucial role promoting advancement, however they are undermining their objective by failing to guarantee the company they finance respects the rights of its workers and neighborhoods on the plantations," HRW scientist Luciana Téllez-Chávez stated.

What is HRW's evidence?

In a report entitled A Hazardous Mix of Abuses on Congo's Oil Palm Plantations, external, HRW said it had actually spoken with more than 40 employees and two-thirds of them "told us that they had actually ended up being impotent given that they began the job".

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

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

Ms Téllez-Chávez said workers who had been interviewed had overalls - not the water resistant overalls.

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

What else does HRW state?

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

The effluents formed a "foul-smelling stream", and ultimately streamed into a natural pond where women and kids bathe 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 said.

If unattended and neglected, effluent-dumping might ultimately likewise trigger fish to suffocate and die, or trigger large growths of algae that could adversely impact the health of people who came into contact with contaminated water or taken in tainted fish, HRW added.

The rights group likewise implicated Feronia of paying "extreme hardship" wages, stating ladies were the lowest-paid, with some earning as low as $7.30 a month event fruit.

HRW said the advancement banks must make sure the companies they buy pay living incomes to their workers.

What is the UK advancement bank's reaction?

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 because the plantation came into remaining in 1911 and does not threaten human health.
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"A treatment plant for POME represents a multimillion dollar investment - money that the company has actually picked instead to invest in housing, clean water arrangement, health care and academic centers for staff members, their households and other members of the local communities.

"It is the goal of the company to build treatment plants for POME, but 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 business has refurbished or dug 72 brand-new boreholes for the provision of tidy water in the last six years."

What does Feronia state?

The company said working conditions had actually improved significantly since the involvement of the European banks in 2013.

Employees were now paid significantly more than the base pay for agriculture in DR Congo and the typical worker made $3.30 daily - higher than what a regional teacher would make, it stated.
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It also verified that it had invested substantially in access to safe drinking water.
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"Feronia runs on a social required with regional communities. Without their support we would not have the ability to work. We acknowledge that there is still a fantastic offer to be done and are committed to operating to worldwide standards. We will continue to work tirelessly to accomplish these goals," the business included in a statement.

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