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

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DR Congo employees for Feronia made impotent by pesticides - HRW

25 November 2019
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Workers exposed to pesticides at a UK-funded company in the Democratic Republic of Congo have actually suffered becoming impotent, a rights group has stated.

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

The UK government's advancement bank, CDC, owns 38% of Feronia in DR Congo.
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It stated Feronia had invested heavily in protective devices and all employees were required to use it.
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Feronia, a Canadian-based company, stated it was dedicated to running to international requirements.
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The firm added that it had actually 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 devices to be used in the work environment.
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Feronia and its regional subsidiary, Plantations et Huileries du Congo (PHC), use countless employees at palm oil plantations in DR Congo.

PHC has received countless dollars from the development banks of Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and the UK.
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"These banks can play an essential function promoting advancement, but they are sabotaging their mission by failing to guarantee the business they fund respects the rights of its employees 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 stated it had actually talked to more than 40 workers and two-thirds of them "told us that they had actually become impotent given that they began the task".

Impotence - along with shortness of breath, headaches, and weight loss that the employees complained about - were health problems "constant with direct exposure to pesticides in basic, as explained in scientific literature", HRW said.

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

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

"If pesticides inadvertently spilled, the poisonous liquid would likely touch their skin," she added.

What else does HRW say?

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

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

If unattended and without treatment, effluent-dumping might ultimately also cause fish to suffocate and die, or cause big growths of algae that might negatively affect the health of individuals who came into contact with polluted water or taken in tainted fish, HRW added.

The rights group also accused Feronia of paying "severe hardship" earnings, stating women were the lowest-paid, with some earning as little as $7.30 a month event fruit.
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HRW said the development banks need to make sure the companies they purchase pay living salaries to their employees.

What is the UK advancement bank's reaction?

In a declaration, CDC stated: "Palm Oil Mill Effluent (POME) is an organic mix of natural waste oils and fats and has been discharged into rivers considering that 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 selected instead to spend on real estate, tidy water arrangement, health care and educational facilities for workers, their households and other members of the regional neighborhoods.
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"It is the aim of the company to construct 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 reconditioned or dug 72 new boreholes for the provision of clean water in the last six years."

What does Feronia state?

The business said working conditions had enhanced significantly because the participation of the European banks in 2013.

Employees were now paid significantly more than the base pay for farming in DR Congo and the typical worker made $3.30 each day - greater than what a local teacher would make, it said.

It also verified that it had actually invested considerably in access to safe drinking water.

"Feronia operates on a social mandate with local communities. Without their assistance we would not have the ability to function. We recognise that there is still a good deal to be done and are committed to operating to global requirements. We will continue to work relentlessly to accomplish these objectives," the business included a statement.

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