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 suffered becoming impotent, a rights group has stated.
Feronia, which controls DR Congo's palm-oil sector, had actually stopped working to give employees appropriate protective devices, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said.
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The UK federal government's advancement bank, CDC, owns 38% of Feronia in DR Congo.
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It stated Feronia had actually invested heavily in protective devices and all employees were needed to use it.
Feronia, a Canadian-based company, said it was dedicated to running to global requirements.
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The firm added that it had actually invested $360,000 (₤ 280,000) on personal protective devices in the last three years, which employees had been trained to utilize, and it had carried out 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), use thousands of at palm oil plantations in DR Congo.
PHC has received millions of dollars from the advancement banks of Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and the UK.
"These banks can play an essential function promoting advancement, however they are sabotaging their mission by stopping working to ensure the business they finance respects the rights of its workers and communities on the plantations," HRW researcher Luciana Téllez-Chávez said.
What is HRW's proof?
In a report entitled A Harmful Mix of Abuses on Congo's Oil Palm Plantations, external, HRW said it had actually interviewed more than 40 workers and two-thirds of them "told us that they had ended up being impotent since they started the job".
Impotence - along with shortness of breath, headaches, and weight reduction that the employees complained about - were illness "constant with direct exposure to pesticides in general, as described in scientific literature", HRW said.
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"Many [also] experienced skin irritation, itchiness, blisters, eye issues, or blurred vision - all signs that are constant with what clinical texts and the items' labels refer to as health consequences of direct exposure to these pesticides," the rights group included.
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Ms Téllez-Chávez said workers who had been talked to had permeable cotton overalls - not the water resistant overalls.
"If pesticides unintentionally spilled, the toxic 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 beside workers' homes.
The effluents formed a "foul-smelling stream", and ultimately streamed into a natural pond where females and children shower and wash cooking utensils.
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"Residents of a village of a number of hundred individuals downstream informed us the river was their only source of drinking water," Ms Téllez-Chávez stated.
If uncontrolled and without treatment, effluent-dumping could eventually also cause fish to suffocate and pass away, or trigger large growths of algae that could negatively impact the health of people who came into contact with polluted water or taken in tainted fish, HRW added.
The rights group likewise implicated Feronia of paying "extreme hardship" earnings, saying females were the lowest-paid, with some earning just $7.30 a month gathering fruit.
HRW said the advancement banks should make sure the businesses they buy pay living wages to their employees.
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What is the UK advancement bank's reaction?
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In a declaration, CDC stated: "Palm Oil Mill Effluent (POME) is a natural mix of natural waste oils and fats and has actually been discharged into rivers since the plantation came into being in 1911 and does not threaten human health.
"A treatment plant for POME represents a multimillion dollar investment - money that the company has selected instead to invest in real estate, clean water arrangement, health care and academic facilities for staff members, their families and other members of the regional neighborhoods.
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"It is the objective of the company to construct treatment plants for POME, but is sadly not in a financial position to do so currently as it continues to make heavy losses.
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"In addition, the business has refurbished or dug 72 new boreholes for the provision of clean water in the last 6 years."
What does Feronia say?
The company said working conditions had actually improved substantially since the involvement of the European banks in 2013.
Employees were now paid considerably more than the base pay for agriculture in DR Congo and the average employee made $3.30 daily - greater than what a regional instructor would make, it said.
It likewise verified that it had invested significantly in access to safe drinking water.
"Feronia operates on a social required with local communities. Without their assistance we would not be able to function. We identify that there is still a good deal to be done and are committed to running to international requirements. We will continue to work relentlessly to achieve these goals," the business included a declaration.
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DR Congo Workers for Feronia made Impotent By Pesticides - HRW
justineknopf38 edited this page 2025-01-17 22:56:24 +08:00