DR Congo workers for Feronia made impotent by HRW
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25 November 2019

Workers exposed to pesticides at a UK-funded company in the Democratic Republic of Congo have experienced becoming impotent, a rights group has said.

Feronia, which controls DR Congo's palm-oil sector, had actually stopped working to give workers adequate protective devices, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said.

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

It stated Feronia had invested greatly in protective devices and all employees were needed to use it.

Feronia, a Canadian-based company, said it was dedicated to running to worldwide standards.

The firm added that it had invested $360,000 (₤ 280,000) on personal protective equipment in the last 3 years, which workers had actually been trained to utilize, and it had actually carried out a policy requiring the equipment to be used in the work environment.

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Feronia and its regional subsidiary, Plantations et Huileries du Congo (PHC), employ countless workers at palm oil plantations in DR Congo.

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

"These banks can play an essential role promoting development, however they are sabotaging their mission by stopping working to make sure the business they finance respects the rights of its workers and communities on the plantations," HRW researcher Luciana Téllez-Chávez stated.
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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 talked to more than 40 employees and two-thirds of them "told us that they had ended up being impotent because they started the task".

Impotence - in addition to shortness of breath, headaches, and weight loss that the employees complained about - were health issue "constant with exposure to pesticides in general, as described in clinical literature", HRW stated.

"Many [likewise] experienced skin irritation, irritation, blisters, eye problems, or blurred vision - all symptoms that are constant with what scientific texts and the items' labels refer to as health consequences of exposure to these pesticides," the rights group added.
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Ms Téllez-Chávez said employees who had been spoken with had permeable cotton overalls - not the water resistant overalls.
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"If pesticides unintentionally spilled, the poisonous liquid would likely touch their skin," she included.
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What else does HRW state?

At the Yaligimba plantation, the business disposed the waste from its palm oil mill beside employees' homes.
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The effluents formed a "foul-smelling stream", and eventually flowed into a natural pond where females and kids bathe and wash cooking utensils.

"Residents of a town of a number of hundred people downstream told us the river was their only source of drinking water," Ms Téllez-Chávez said.
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If untreated and without treatment, effluent-dumping could ultimately likewise trigger fish to suffocate and pass away, or cause big growths of algae that could negatively affect the health of people who entered into contact with polluted water or consumed tainted fish, HRW added.

The rights group likewise implicated Feronia of paying "extreme hardship" earnings, saying ladies were the lowest-paid, with some earning as little as $7.30 a month gathering fruit.

HRW stated the development banks must ensure the services they purchase pay living salaries to their employees.

What is the UK advancement bank's reaction?

In a statement, CDC said: "Palm Oil Mill Effluent (POME) is a natural mix of natural waste oils and fats and has actually been released into rivers given that the plantation entered 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 actually picked instead to spend on housing, tidy water arrangement, healthcare and academic facilities for staff members, their families and other members of the local neighborhoods.

"It is the goal of the company to develop 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 company has refurbished or dug 72 new boreholes for the provision of clean water in the last six years."

What does Feronia say?

The business stated working conditions had actually enhanced considerably since the participation 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 earned $3.30 daily - greater than what a regional teacher would earn, it said.

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

"Feronia runs on a social required with regional communities. Without their support we would not be able to work. We acknowledge that there is still a lot to be done and are committed to running to international requirements. We will continue to work tirelessly to achieve these goals," the company included a declaration.

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