DR Congo Workers for Feronia made Impotent By Pesticides – HRW

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

Feronia, which controls DR Congo’s palm-oil sector, had failed to give workers sufficient protective equipment, Human Rights Watch (HRW) stated.

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

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

Feronia, a Canadian-based firm, stated it was committed to operating to international standards.

The company added 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 implemented a policy needing the equipment to be worn in the workplace.

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Feronia and its local 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 development banks of Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and the UK.

“These banks can play a crucial function promoting advancement, however they are undermining their mission by failing to make sure the business 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 Harmful Mix of Abuses on Congo’s Oil Palm Plantations, external, HRW stated it had actually talked to more than 40 workers and two-thirds of them “informed us that they had actually become impotent because they started the task”.

Impotence – in addition to shortness of breath, headaches, and weight-loss that the workers complained about – were illness “consistent with direct exposure to pesticides in general, as explained in clinical literature”, HRW stated.

“Many [likewise] struggled with skin inflammation, itchiness, blisters, eye issues, or blurred vision – all symptoms that follow what scientific texts and the products’ labels refer to as health consequences of 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 unintentionally spilled, the poisonous liquid would likely touch their skin,” she added.

What else does HRW state?

At the Yaligimba plantation, the company discarded the waste from its palm oil mill next to employees’ homes.

The effluents formed a “foul-smelling stream”, and ultimately streamed into a natural pond where women and children shower and wash cooking utensils.

“Residents of a town of numerous hundred individuals downstream informed us the river was their only source of drinking water,” Ms Téllez-Chávez stated.

If uncontrolled and neglected, effluent-dumping could ultimately also trigger fish to suffocate and pass away, or cause big developments of algae that might adversely affect the health of people who entered into contact with contaminated water or consumed tainted fish, HRW added.

The rights group likewise implicated Feronia of paying “extreme poverty” earnings, saying females were the lowest-paid, with some earning as little as $7.30 a month gathering fruit.

HRW said the development banks should make sure business they invest in pay living incomes to their workers.

What is the UK advancement bank’s action?

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 being 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 instead to invest on housing, tidy water arrangement, health care and academic facilities for employees, their households and other members of the local neighborhoods.

“It is the objective of the business to develop treatment plants for POME, but is regrettably not in a financial position to do so presently as it continues to make heavy losses.

“In addition, the business has actually refurbished or dug 72 brand-new boreholes for the arrangement of tidy water in the last 6 years.”

What does Feronia say?

The business said working conditions had enhanced significantly considering that the involvement of the European banks in 2013.

Employees were now paid substantially more than the minimum wage for farming in DR Congo and the average employee made $3.30 per day – greater than what a local teacher would make, it said.

It likewise confirmed that it had actually invested substantially in access to safe drinking water.

“Feronia runs on a social mandate with local neighborhoods. Without their assistance we would not be able to function. We recognise that there is still a lot to be done and are committed to operating to international requirements. We will continue to work tirelessly to accomplish these objectives,” the business included a declaration.

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