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 suffered ending up being impotent, a rights group has actually said.

Feronia, which dominates DR Congo's palm-oil sector, had actually failed to provide workers appropriate protective devices, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said.

The UK federal government's advancement bank, CDC, owns 38% of Feronia in DR Congo.
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It said Feronia had actually invested heavily in protective devices and all workers were required to wear it.

Feronia, a Canadian-based firm, stated it was devoted to operating to international requirements.

The firm included that it had spent $360,000 (₤ 280,000) on individual protective devices in the last 3 years, which workers had been trained to use, and it had actually executed a policy needing the equipment to be worn in the workplace.

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Feronia and its regional subsidiary, Plantations et Huileries du Congo (PHC), employ countless employees at palm oil plantations in DR Congo.
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PHC has actually received countless dollars from the development banks of Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and the UK.

"These banks can play a crucial function promoting development, however they are sabotaging their objective by stopping working to make sure the company they fund respects the rights of its workers and communities on the plantations," HRW scientist Luciana Téllez-Chávez stated.

What is HRW's evidence?

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

Impotence - in addition to shortness of breath, headaches, and weight reduction that the employees complained about - were health problems "constant with exposure to pesticides in general, as described in clinical literature", HRW said.
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"Many [also] suffered from skin irritation, itchiness, blisters, eye problems, or blurred vision - all symptoms that follow what clinical texts and the items' labels explain as health repercussions of direct exposure to these pesticides," the rights group included.

Ms Téllez-Chávez stated employees who had been interviewed 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 included.

What else does HRW say?

At the Yaligimba plantation, the business dumped the waste from its palm oil mill next to employees' homes.
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The effluents formed a "foul-smelling stream", and eventually flowed into a natural pond where ladies and kids shower and wash cooking utensils.

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

If untreated and unattended, effluent-dumping could eventually likewise to suffocate and die, or trigger large developments of algae that could negatively impact the health of people who entered contact with polluted water or consumed tainted fish, HRW included.
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The rights group likewise implicated Feronia of paying "extreme hardship" earnings, stating 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 the services they buy pay living earnings to their workers.
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What is the UK development bank's reaction?

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

"A treatment plant for POME represents a multimillion dollar financial investment - money that the business has actually picked rather to invest on real estate, clean water arrangement, health care and academic facilities for workers, their families and other members of the local communities.

"It is the aim of the business to build treatment plants for POME, but is unfortunately not in a monetary position to do so presently as it continues to make heavy losses.

"In addition, the company has actually reconditioned or dug 72 new boreholes for the arrangement of tidy water in the last 6 years."

What does Feronia state?

The business said working conditions had actually improved significantly given that the participation of the European banks in 2013.

Employees were now paid substantially more than the base pay for farming in DR Congo and the typical worker made $3.30 daily - higher than what a local teacher would earn, it said.
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It likewise verified that it had actually invested significantly in access to safe drinking water.
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"Feronia operates on a social mandate with local communities. Without their assistance we would not have the ability to function. We acknowledge that there is still a terrific offer to be done and are committed to running to worldwide standards. We will continue to work relentlessly to attain these goals," the business included in a declaration.

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