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DR Congo workers for Feronia made impotent by pesticides - HRW
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25 November 2019
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Workers exposed to pesticides at a UK-funded firm in the Democratic Republic of Congo have actually suffered ending up being impotent, a rights group has said.
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Feronia, which dominates DR Congo's palm-oil sector, had stopped working to provide employees sufficient protective equipment, Human Rights Watch (HRW) stated.

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

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

The firm included that it had invested $360,000 (₤ 280,000) on personal protective devices in the last 3 years, which employees had been trained to utilize, and it had implemented a policy requiring the devices to be used in the office.

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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 gotten millions of dollars from the development banks of Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and the UK.

"These banks can play a crucial role promoting advancement, but they are undermining their mission by failing to ensure the company they finance respects the rights of its workers and communities on the plantations," HRW scientist Luciana Téllez-Chávez stated.

What is HRW's proof?

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

Impotence - in addition to shortness of breath, headaches, and weight-loss that the workers grumbled about - were health problems "consistent with exposure to pesticides in basic, as explained in scientific literature", HRW said.

"Many [also] struggled with skin inflammation, itching, blisters, eye problems, or blurred vision - all signs that are consistent with what scientific texts and the products' labels explain as health repercussions of direct exposure to these pesticides," the rights group added.

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

"If pesticides inadvertently spilled, the toxic liquid would likely touch their skin," she included.

What else does HRW state?

At the Yaligimba plantation, the company dumped the waste from its palm oil mill next to workers' homes.
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The effluents formed a "foul-smelling stream", and eventually streamed into a natural pond where ladies and children bathe and clean cooking utensils.

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

If uncontrolled and untreated, effluent-dumping might ultimately likewise cause fish to suffocate and pass away, or trigger large growths of algae that might adversely affect the health of individuals who entered into contact with contaminated water or taken in tainted fish, HRW included.

The rights group also accused Feronia of paying "extreme poverty" salaries, saying women were the lowest-paid, with some earning as low as $7.30 a month gathering fruit.

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

What is the UK development bank's reaction?

In a statement, CDC stated: "Palm Oil Mill Effluent (POME) is a natural mix of natural waste oils and fats and has actually been discharged into rivers considering that the plantation entered into remaining in 1911 and does not threaten human health.

"A treatment plant for POME represents a multimillion dollar financial investment - cash that the company has actually picked instead to invest in housing, clean water arrangement, health care and academic facilities for employees, their families and other members of the local communities.

"It is the goal of the company to construct treatment plants for POME, however is regrettably 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 provision of clean water in the last six years."

What does Feronia state?

The company stated working conditions had enhanced considerably considering that the involvement of the European banks in 2013.

Employees were now paid considerably more than the base pay for farming in DR Congo and the typical employee earned $3.30 per day - greater than what a regional teacher would make, it stated.
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It likewise confirmed that it had actually invested significantly in access to safe drinking water.

"Feronia runs on a social required with regional neighborhoods. Without their support 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 worldwide requirements. We will continue to work tirelessly to attain these goals," the company added in a statement.

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