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

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DR Congo workers 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 becoming impotent, a rights group has said.

Feronia, which controls DR Congo's palm-oil sector, had actually stopped working to provide workers sufficient protective devices, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said.

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

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

Feronia, a Canadian-based firm, said it was devoted to operating to worldwide standards.

The firm included that it had spent $360,000 (₤ 280,000) on personal protective equipment in the last three years, which employees had been trained to utilize, and it had actually carried out a policy requiring the equipment to be used in the workplace.

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

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

"These banks can play an essential role promoting advancement, but they are sabotaging their mission by stopping working to guarantee the business they finance appreciates the rights of its workers and communities on the plantations," HRW researcher Luciana Téllez-Chávez said.
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What is HRW's evidence?

In a report entitled A Toxic Mix of Abuses on Congo's Oil Palm Plantations, external, HRW said it had interviewed more than 40 workers and two-thirds of them "informed us that they had actually ended up being impotent given that they started the task".

Impotence - together with shortness of breath, headaches, and weight loss that the workers complained about - were health problems "constant with direct exposure to pesticides in basic, as described in clinical literature", HRW stated.
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"Many [also] struggled with skin inflammation, itching, blisters, eye issues, or blurred vision - all symptoms that follow what scientific texts and the products' labels explain as health consequences of direct exposure to these pesticides," the rights group added.

Ms Téllez-Chávez said workers who had been spoken with had permeable cotton overalls - not the waterproof overalls.

"If pesticides mistakenly spilled, the hazardous liquid would likely touch their skin," she included.

What else does HRW say?
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At the Yaligimba plantation, the business discarded the waste from its palm oil mill beside employees' homes.

The effluents formed a "foul-smelling stream", and ultimately flowed into a natural pond where women and children bathe and clean cooking utensils.
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"Residents of a village of numerous hundred people downstream informed us the river was their only source of drinking water," Ms Téllez-Chávez said.

If unchecked and neglected, effluent-dumping might eventually also cause fish to suffocate and pass away, or cause large growths of algae that might negatively impact the health of individuals who entered contact with contaminated water or taken in tainted fish, HRW included.

The rights group also accused Feronia of paying "severe hardship" incomes, stating women were the lowest-paid, with some earning as low as $7.30 a month gathering fruit.

HRW stated the development banks must make sure business they purchase pay living wages to their workers.
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What is the UK development bank's response?

In a statement, CDC said: "Palm Oil Mill Effluent (POME) is a natural mix of natural waste oils and fats and has been released into rivers since the plantation came into remaining in 1911 and does not threaten human health.

"A treatment plant for POME represents a multimillion dollar - money that the company has actually selected rather to spend on real estate, tidy water provision, healthcare and instructional centers for staff members, their families and other members of the local communities.

"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 refurbished or dug 72 new boreholes for the arrangement of clean water in the last six years."

What does Feronia say?
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The business stated working conditions had improved considerably since the participation of the European banks in 2013.

Employees were now paid significantly more than the minimum wage for agriculture in DR Congo and the average worker earned $3.30 each day - higher than what a local instructor would make, it stated.
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It also confirmed that it had invested considerably in access to safe drinking water.
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"Feronia operates on a social mandate with regional communities. 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 worldwide standards. We will continue to work tirelessly to accomplish these objectives," the business included in a declaration.
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