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 complained of ending up being impotent, a rights group has stated.
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Feronia, which controls DR Congo's palm-oil sector, had failed to offer workers sufficient protective devices, Human Rights Watch (HRW) stated.
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The UK federal government's development bank, CDC, owns 38% of in DR Congo.
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It said Feronia had actually invested greatly in protective equipment and all employees were needed to wear it.

Feronia, a Canadian-based firm, said it was devoted to running to global requirements.

The company added that it had actually spent $360,000 (₤ 280,000) on personal protective devices in the last 3 years, which workers had been trained to use, and it had actually carried out 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), utilize countless workers at palm oil plantations in DR Congo.
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PHC has received millions of dollars from the development banks of Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and the UK.

"These banks can play a crucial function promoting advancement, but they are undermining their objective by stopping working to ensure the company they finance appreciates the rights of its employees and neighborhoods on the plantations," HRW scientist Luciana Téllez-Chávez stated.
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What is HRW's proof?
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In a report entitled A Toxic Mix of Abuses on Congo's Oil Palm Plantations, external, HRW stated it had interviewed more than 40 employees and two-thirds of them "told us that they had actually become impotent given that they began the task".

Impotence - along with shortness of breath, headaches, and weight-loss that the workers complained about - were illness "consistent with direct exposure to pesticides in general, as described in clinical literature", HRW said.
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"Many [likewise] struggled with skin inflammation, itchiness, blisters, eye problems, or blurred vision - all signs that follow what clinical texts and the products' labels explain as health repercussions of exposure to these pesticides," the rights group added.

Ms Téllez-Chávez stated workers who had been talked to had permeable cotton overalls - not the waterproof overalls.

"If pesticides accidentally spilled, the toxic liquid would likely touch their skin," she included.
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What else does HRW state?

At the Yaligimba plantation, the company discarded 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 kids bathe and clean cooking utensils.
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"Residents of a town of a number of hundred individuals downstream informed us the river was their only source of drinking water," Ms Téllez-Chávez said.

If uncontrolled and unattended, effluent-dumping could ultimately likewise cause fish to suffocate and pass away, or cause large developments of algae that might negatively affect the health of individuals who entered into contact with contaminated water or consumed tainted fish, HRW included.

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

HRW stated the advancement banks must guarantee the services they buy pay living salaries to their workers.

What is the UK development bank's action?
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In a statement, 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.

"A treatment plant for POME represents a multimillion dollar investment - money that the company has picked instead to invest in housing, clean water provision, health care and academic centers for employees, their families and other members of the local neighborhoods.

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

What does Feronia state?

The company stated working conditions had improved significantly since the involvement of the European banks in 2013.
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Employees were now paid considerably more than the minimum wage for agriculture in DR Congo and the typical employee earned $3.30 each day - higher than what a regional instructor would make, it stated.

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

"Feronia runs on a social required with regional communities. Without their assistance we would not be able to operate. We identify that there is still a lot to be done and are committed to running to global standards. We will continue to work tirelessly to attain these objectives," the company included in a statement.

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