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 grumbled of becoming impotent, a rights group has stated.
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Feronia, which controls DR Congo's palm-oil sector, had actually stopped working to provide workers sufficient protective equipment, Human Rights Watch (HRW) stated.

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

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

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

The firm included that it had invested $360,000 (₤ 280,000) on personal protective devices in the last 3 years, which employees had been trained to use, and it had carried out a policy requiring the equipment to be worn in the work environment.

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Feronia and its local subsidiary, Plantations et Huileries du Congo (PHC), employ thousands of workers at palm oil plantations in DR Congo.

PHC has received 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 mission by failing to guarantee the company they fund respects the rights of its employees and neighborhoods on the plantations," HRW researcher Luciana Téllez-Chávez stated.

What is HRW's evidence?

In a report entitled A Poisonous Mix of Abuses on Congo's Oil Palm Plantations, external, HRW said it had spoken with more than 40 employees and two-thirds of them "told us that they had actually become impotent since they started the task".

Impotence - along with shortness of breath, headaches, and weight reduction that the workers grumbled about - were illness "constant with exposure to pesticides in general, as described in scientific literature", HRW stated.

"Many [likewise] suffered from skin irritation, itching, blisters, eye problems, or blurred vision - all symptoms that follow what clinical texts and the products' labels describe as health repercussions of direct exposure to these pesticides," the rights group added.

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

"If pesticides inadvertently spilled, the poisonous liquid would likely touch their skin," she included.

What else does HRW say?

At the Yaligimba plantation, the company dumped the waste from its palm oil mill beside employees' homes.

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

"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 neglected, effluent-dumping might ultimately likewise cause fish to suffocate and pass away, or cause large developments of algae that could adversely affect the health of individuals who entered into contact with contaminated water or taken in tainted fish, HRW included.
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The rights group likewise implicated Feronia of paying "extreme hardship" incomes, saying women were the lowest-paid, with some earning as little as $7.30 a month event fruit.

HRW said the development banks need to ensure business they buy pay living wages to their employees.

What is the UK advancement bank's response?

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

"A treatment plant for POME represents a multimillion dollar financial investment - cash that the company has picked rather to spend on real estate, clean water provision, healthcare and academic centers for workers, their households and other members of the regional communities.

"It is the aim of the company to construct treatment plants for POME, however is unfortunately not in a financial position to do so presently as it continues to make heavy losses.
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"In addition, the company has actually reconditioned or dug 72 new boreholes for the arrangement of clean water in the last 6 years."

What does Feronia state?

The company stated working conditions had improved substantially considering that 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 typical employee earned $3.30 daily - greater than what a local instructor would earn, it said.

It also validated that it had invested substantially in access to safe drinking water.

"Feronia on a social mandate with regional neighborhoods. Without their support we would not have the ability to operate. We acknowledge that there is still a lot to be done and are devoted to running to international standards. We will continue to work tirelessly to accomplish these goals," the company added in a statement.

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