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

DR Congo workers for Feronia made impotent by pesticides - HRW
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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 stopped working to offer employees appropriate protective equipment, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said.

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

It said Feronia had invested heavily in protective devices and all employees were needed to wear it.

Feronia, a Canadian-based company, stated it was dedicated to operating to worldwide requirements.
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The company included that it had spent $360,000 (₤ 280,000) on personal protective devices in the last 3 years, which workers had actually been trained to use, and it had executed a policy needing the devices to be used in the work environment.

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

PHC has gotten countless dollars from the development banks of Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and the UK.

"These banks can play an essential role promoting development, however they are undermining their mission by stopping working to ensure the company they finance appreciates the rights of its workers and communities on the plantations," HRW researcher Luciana Téllez-Chávez stated.

What is HRW's evidence?
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In a report entitled A Harmful Mix of Abuses on Congo's Oil Palm Plantations, external, HRW said it had talked to more than 40 employees and two-thirds of them "told us that they had ended up being impotent since they started the job".

Impotence - together with shortness of breath, headaches, and weight-loss that the employees grumbled about - were health issues "constant with exposure to pesticides in general, as explained in scientific literature", HRW stated.

"Many [also] struggled with skin irritation, itchiness, blisters, eye issues, or blurred vision - all signs that are constant with what scientific texts and the items' labels refer to as health repercussions of direct exposure to these pesticides," the rights group included.
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Ms Téllez-Chávez said workers who had actually been interviewed had permeable cotton overalls - not the waterproof overalls.

"If pesticides mistakenly spilled, the harmful liquid would likely touch their skin," she included.
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What else does HRW say?

At the Yaligimba plantation, the company dumped 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 females and kids bathe and wash cooking utensils.

"Residents of a village of several hundred people downstream told us the river was their only source of drinking water," Ms Téllez-Chávez stated.

If unattended and untreated, effluent-dumping might ultimately also trigger fish to suffocate and die, or cause big developments of algae that might adversely impact the health of people who entered contact with polluted water or taken in tainted fish, HRW included.

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

HRW stated the advancement banks ought to guarantee the companies they buy pay living incomes to their employees.

What is the UK development bank's action?

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 came into being in 1911 and does not threaten human health.

"A treatment plant for POME represents a multimillion dollar financial investment - money that the company has actually picked instead to spend on housing, clean water arrangement, health care and instructional centers for workers, their households and other members of the local neighborhoods.

"It is the goal of the company to construct treatment plants for POME, but is unfortunately 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 provision of tidy water in the last six years."

What does Feronia say?
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The business said working conditions had improved considerably considering that the involvement of the European banks in 2013.

Employees were now paid considerably more than the base pay for farming in DR Congo and the average employee made $3.30 per day - greater than what a regional instructor would make, it stated.
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It also confirmed that it had actually invested significantly in access to safe drinking water.

"Feronia operates on a social required with local neighborhoods. Without their support we would not be able to function. We recognise that there is still a lot to be done and are devoted to running to global standards. We will continue to work relentlessly to achieve these objectives," the business included in a declaration.

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