DR Congo workers for Feronia made impotent by pesticides - HRW

25 November 2019

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

Feronia, which dominates DR Congo’s palm-oil sector, had failed to offer employees sufficient protective equipment, Human Rights Watch (HRW) stated.
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The UK government’s development bank, CDC, owns 38% of Feronia in DR Congo.

It stated Feronia had actually invested greatly in protective devices and all workers were needed to wear it.

Feronia, a Canadian-based firm, said it was devoted to running to global requirements.

The company added that it had actually spent $360,000 (₤ 280,000) on individual protective devices in the last three years, which workers had actually been trained to utilize, and it had actually implemented a policy requiring the devices to be worn in the workplace.

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

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

“These banks can play a crucial function promoting advancement, however they are undermining their mission by stopping working to make sure the company they finance respects the rights of its employees and communities on the plantations,” HRW scientist Luciana Téllez-Chávez stated.

What is HRW’s proof?

In a report entitled A Harmful Mix of Abuses on Congo’s Oil Palm Plantations, external, HRW stated it had interviewed more than 40 workers and two-thirds of them “informed us that they had actually ended up being impotent considering that they began the job”.

Impotence - in addition to shortness of breath, headaches, and weight loss that the employees complained about - were illness “consistent with exposure to pesticides in general, as explained in clinical literature”, HRW said.

“Many [likewise] experienced skin irritation, itching, blisters, eye issues, 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 actually been talked to had permeable cotton overalls - not the waterproof overalls.
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“If pesticides accidentally spilled, the harmful liquid would likely touch their skin,” she included.
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What else does HRW say?

At the Yaligimba plantation, the business discarded the waste from its palm oil mill beside workers’ homes.

The effluents formed a “foul-smelling stream”, and eventually streamed into a natural pond where ladies and kids shower and wash cooking utensils.

“Residents of a town of several hundred people downstream informed us the river was their only source of drinking water,” Ms Téllez-Chávez stated.

If unattended and untreated, effluent-dumping might ultimately also cause fish to suffocate and die, or cause big growths of algae that could negatively impact the health of people who entered into contact with polluted water or taken in tainted fish, HRW added.
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The rights group likewise implicated Feronia of paying “extreme poverty” wages, stating females were the lowest-paid, with some earning as little as $7.30 a month gathering fruit.
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HRW stated the development banks must ensure the companies they buy pay living incomes to their employees.

What is the UK development bank’s action?

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

“A treatment plant for POME represents a multimillion dollar financial investment - money that the business has chosen rather to invest in housing, tidy water provision, health care and educational centers for employees, their families and other members of the local neighborhoods.

“It is the objective of the business to construct treatment plants for POME, but is unfortunately not in a financial position to do so currently as it continues to make heavy losses.

“In addition, the business has or dug 72 brand-new boreholes for the provision of clean water in the last six years.”

What does Feronia state?

The company stated working conditions had enhanced significantly because the involvement of the European banks in 2013.

Employees were now paid considerably more than the minimum wage for agriculture in DR Congo and the typical worker earned $3.30 daily - greater than what a regional instructor would make, it said.

It also confirmed that it had invested substantially in access to safe drinking water.
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“Feronia runs on a social mandate with local communities. Without their support we would not have the ability to function. We identify that there is still a lot to be done and are dedicated to operating to global standards. We will continue to work relentlessly to achieve these objectives,” the business included a statement.

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