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DR Congo employees 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 experienced becoming impotent, a rights group has actually said.

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

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

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

Feronia, a Canadian-based company, stated it was devoted to operating to worldwide standards.

The firm added that it had actually invested $360,000 (₤ 280,000) on individual protective equipment in the last 3 years, which employees had been trained to utilize, and it had actually implemented a policy needing the equipment to be used in the office.

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

PHC has actually received millions of dollars from the advancement banks of Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and the UK.

"These banks can play a crucial role promoting development, but they are undermining their mission by failing to make sure the business they finance appreciates the rights of its workers and neighborhoods on the plantations," HRW researcher Luciana Téllez-Chávez stated.

What is HRW's proof?

In a report entitled A Toxic Mix of Abuses on Congo's Oil Palm Plantations, external, HRW said it had actually interviewed more than 40 employees and two-thirds of them "told us that they had become impotent since they began the task".

Impotence - along with shortness of breath, headaches, and weight-loss that the workers grumbled about - were health issues "consistent with exposure to pesticides in general, as explained in clinical literature", HRW said.

"Many [also] struggled with skin irritation, itching, blisters, eye issues, or blurred vision - all symptoms that are constant with what clinical texts and the products' labels refer to as health consequences of direct exposure to these pesticides," the rights group added.

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

"If pesticides accidentally spilled, the harmful liquid would likely touch their skin," she included.

What else does HRW say?

At the Yaligimba plantation, the company disposed the waste from its palm oil mill beside employees' homes.

The effluents formed a "foul-smelling stream", and eventually streamed into a natural pond where ladies and children bathe and wash cooking utensils.

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

If unchecked and without treatment, effluent-dumping might eventually also cause fish to suffocate and pass away, or cause large growths of algae that could adversely impact the health of individuals who came into contact with contaminated water or taken in tainted fish, HRW added.

The rights group likewise accused Feronia of paying "severe hardship" earnings, stating women were the lowest-paid, with some earning as low as $7.30 a month event fruit.
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HRW stated the development banks ought to guarantee the services they purchase pay living incomes to their employees.

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 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 company has selected instead to invest in real estate, clean water arrangement, healthcare and educational facilities for employees, their households and other members of the regional neighborhoods.

"It is the objective of the company to construct treatment plants for POME, but is regrettably not in a monetary 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 clean water in the last six years."

What does Feronia say?

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

Employees were now paid considerably more than the minimum wage for farming in DR Congo and the typical employee earned $3.30 each day - higher than what a regional teacher would earn, it said.

It also validated that it had actually invested significantly in access to safe drinking water.

"Feronia operates on a social required with regional neighborhoods. Without their assistance we would not be able to operate. We identify that there is still a lot to be done and are devoted to operating to global standards. We will continue to work relentlessly to accomplish these goals," the business included a declaration.

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