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 grumbled of ending up being impotent, a rights group has said.

Feronia, which controls DR Congo's palm-oil sector, had 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.

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

Feronia, a Canadian-based firm, said it was devoted to running to global requirements.
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The company included that it had invested $360,000 (₤ 280,000) on personal protective equipment in the last 3 years, which employees had actually been trained to use, and it had implemented a policy needing the devices to be used in the workplace.

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

PHC has actually received millions of dollars from the development banks of Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and the UK.
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"These banks can play an important role promoting development, but they are undermining their mission by stopping working to ensure the company they finance respects the rights of its workers and neighborhoods on the plantations," HRW researcher Luciana Téllez-Chávez said.

What is HRW's evidence?
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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 become impotent given that they started the task".

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

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

Ms Téllez-Chávez said employees who had actually been spoken with had permeable cotton overalls - not the water resistant overalls.
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"If pesticides accidentally spilled, the poisonous liquid would likely touch their skin," she added.

What else does HRW say?
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At the Yaligimba plantation, the company disposed 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 ladies and children shower and wash cooking utensils.
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"Residents of a town of several hundred people downstream informed us the river was their only source of drinking water," Ms Téllez-Chávez said.

If untreated and neglected, effluent-dumping might ultimately likewise cause fish to suffocate and pass away, or trigger large developments of algae that could the health of people who entered contact with contaminated water or taken in tainted fish, HRW added.
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The rights group also implicated Feronia of paying "extreme hardship" earnings, stating ladies were the lowest-paid, with some earning just $7.30 a month gathering fruit.

HRW stated the development banks need to guarantee the businesses they purchase pay living incomes to their employees.

What is the UK development bank's response?

In a statement, CDC stated: "Palm Oil Mill Effluent (POME) is a natural mix of natural waste oils and fats and has been discharged into rivers because the plantation came into remaining in 1911 and does not threaten human health.
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"A treatment plant for POME represents a multimillion dollar financial investment - cash that the company has actually selected rather to spend on housing, tidy water provision, health care and academic centers for workers, their households and other members of the local neighborhoods.

"It is the aim of the company to construct treatment plants for POME, however is regrettably not in a financial position to do so currently as it continues to make heavy losses.

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

What does Feronia say?
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The business stated working conditions had enhanced substantially since the involvement of the European banks in 2013.

Employees were now paid significantly more than the minimum wage for agriculture in DR Congo and the typical employee earned $3.30 daily - greater than what a local instructor would make, it stated.
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It likewise confirmed that it had invested significantly in access to safe drinking water.

"Feronia operates on a social required with local communities. Without their support we would not have the ability to work. We acknowledge that there is still a fantastic offer to be done and are dedicated to running to worldwide standards. We will continue to work relentlessly to achieve these objectives," the business included a statement.

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