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 suffered ending up being impotent, a rights group has stated.
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Feronia, which dominates DR Congo's palm-oil sector, had stopped working to provide workers sufficient protective equipment, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said.

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

It stated Feronia had actually invested heavily in protective equipment and all employees were needed to wear it.
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Feronia, a Canadian-based firm, said it was devoted to running to worldwide standards.

The company included that it had actually spent $360,000 (₤ 280,000) on individual protective equipment in the last 3 years, which employees had been trained to utilize, and it had implemented a policy requiring the devices to be used in the office.

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Feronia and its local subsidiary, Plantations et Huileries du Congo (PHC), employ thousands of employees at palm oil plantations in DR Congo.
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PHC has gotten millions of dollars from the advancement banks of Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and the UK.
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"These banks can play a crucial function promoting advancement, however they are undermining their mission by stopping working to ensure the company they fund appreciates the rights of its workers and communities on the plantations," HRW researcher Luciana Téllez-Chávez stated.

What is HRW's evidence?

In a report entitled A Harmful Mix of Abuses on Congo's Oil Palm Plantations, external, HRW stated it had talked to more than 40 workers and two-thirds of them "told us that they had ended up being impotent given that they began the job".
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Impotence - together with shortness of breath, headaches, and weight reduction that the employees grumbled about - were health issue "consistent with exposure to pesticides in general, as explained in scientific literature", HRW said.

"Many [likewise] struggled with skin inflammation, irritation, blisters, eye problems, or blurred vision - all symptoms that follow what scientific texts and the items' labels refer to as health effects of exposure to these pesticides," the rights group added.

Ms Téllez-Chávez stated employees who had been talked to had permeable cotton overalls - not the waterproof overalls.
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"If pesticides mistakenly spilled, the hazardous liquid would likely touch their skin," she added.
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What else does HRW say?

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

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

"Residents of a town of numerous hundred individuals downstream told us the river was their only source of drinking water," Ms Téllez-Chávez said.

If unchecked and neglected, effluent-dumping could ultimately also cause fish to suffocate and pass away, or cause large growths of algae that might negatively affect the health of people who came into contact with polluted water or consumed tainted fish, HRW included.

The rights group also 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 advancement banks should guarantee business they buy pay living salaries to their employees.

What is the UK advancement ?

In a declaration, CDC said: "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 into remaining in 1911 and does not threaten human health.
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"A treatment plant for POME represents a multimillion dollar investment - cash that the company has actually selected rather to invest in housing, tidy water arrangement, health care and educational facilities for employees, their families and other members of the regional communities.

"It is the aim of the company to develop treatment plants for POME, but is sadly 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 refurbished or dug 72 new boreholes for the provision of clean water in the last six years."
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What does Feronia say?

The business said working conditions had actually enhanced substantially given that the participation 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 each day - higher than what a regional instructor would make, it stated.
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It likewise verified that it had invested considerably 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 be able to operate. We acknowledge that there is still a good deal to be done and are dedicated to operating to worldwide standards. We will continue to work tirelessly to accomplish these objectives," the business included in a declaration.
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