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 experienced ending up being impotent, a rights group has actually said.

Feronia, which dominates DR Congo's palm-oil sector, had actually failed to provide employees adequate protective equipment, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said.
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The UK government's advancement bank, CDC, owns 38% of Feronia in DR Congo.

It said Feronia had actually invested greatly in protective devices and all workers were needed to use it.

Feronia, a Canadian-based firm, stated it was committed to operating to international standards.
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The company added that it had actually spent $360,000 (₤ 280,000) on personal protective equipment in the last 3 years, which employees had been trained to use, and it had implemented a policy needing the equipment to be worn in the work environment.
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Feronia and its regional subsidiary, Plantations et Huileries du Congo (PHC), employ thousands of workers at palm oil plantations in DR Congo.

PHC has actually received millions of dollars from the advancement banks of Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and the UK.
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"These banks can play an important role promoting advancement, however they are sabotaging their objective by stopping working to guarantee the company they fund respects the rights of its employees and communities on the plantations," HRW researcher Luciana Téllez-Chávez stated.
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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 talked to more than 40 employees and two-thirds of them "informed us that they had actually become impotent because they began the task".

Impotence - along with shortness of breath, headaches, and weight-loss that the workers grumbled about - were health problems "constant with exposure to pesticides in basic, as described in clinical literature", HRW said.

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

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

"If pesticides inadvertently spilled, the hazardous 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 beside .

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

"Residents of a village of a number of hundred people downstream told us the river was their only source of drinking water," Ms Téllez-Chávez said.
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If untreated and untreated, effluent-dumping could eventually likewise cause fish to suffocate and pass away, or trigger big developments of algae that might negatively 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 poverty" earnings, saying women were the lowest-paid, with some earning as low as $7.30 a month gathering fruit.

HRW said the development banks should guarantee business they invest in pay living incomes to their employees.
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What is the UK development bank's response?
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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 because 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 business has chosen instead to invest on real estate, clean water arrangement, healthcare and academic facilities for employees, their families and other members of the local communities.

"It is the goal of the business to construct treatment plants for POME, however is regrettably not in a financial 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 new boreholes for the arrangement of clean water in the last six years."

What does Feronia state?
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The company said working conditions had actually improved substantially since the involvement of the European banks in 2013.
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Employees were now paid substantially more than the minimum wage for farming in DR Congo and the average employee made $3.30 each day - greater than what a local instructor would earn, it stated.

It also confirmed that it had actually invested considerably in access to safe drinking water.

"Feronia operates on a social required with regional communities. Without their support we would not be able to operate. We recognise that there is still a good deal to be done and are dedicated to running to international requirements. We will continue to work tirelessly to accomplish these goals," the business included in a statement.
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