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 firm in the Democratic Republic of Congo have suffered ending up being impotent, a rights group has stated.

Feronia, which controls DR Congo's palm-oil sector, had actually failed to give employees adequate protective equipment, Human Rights Watch (HRW) stated.
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The UK federal government's advancement bank, CDC, owns 38% of Feronia in DR Congo.

It stated Feronia had actually invested heavily in protective equipment and all employees were required to wear it.

Feronia, a Canadian-based company, said it was committed to running to international standards.

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

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

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

"These banks can play an essential role promoting advancement, but they are undermining their mission by failing to ensure the business they fund appreciates the rights of its employees and communities on the plantations," HRW scientist Luciana Téllez-Chávez stated.

What is HRW's evidence?

In a report entitled A Harmful 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".
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Impotence - along with shortness of breath, headaches, and weight loss that the employees complained about - were health issue "constant with exposure to pesticides in basic, as described in scientific literature", HRW said.

"Many [also] experienced skin irritation, itching, blisters, eye problems, or blurred vision - all symptoms that follow what clinical texts and the items' labels explain as health effects of direct exposure to these pesticides," the rights group added.

Ms Téllez-Chávez stated workers who had actually been talked to had permeable cotton overalls - not the water resistant overalls.
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"If pesticides accidentally spilled, the toxic liquid would likely touch their skin," she included.

What else does HRW say?

At the Yaligimba plantation, the business dumped the waste from its palm oil mill next to workers' homes.

The effluents formed a "foul-smelling stream", and ultimately flowed into a natural pond where women and kids bathe and clean cooking utensils.

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

If uncontrolled and unattended, effluent-dumping could eventually also trigger fish to suffocate and pass away, or trigger large growths of algae that could adversely impact the health of people who entered contact with polluted water or consumed tainted fish, HRW included.

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

HRW said the development banks should guarantee business they living wages to their workers.
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What is the UK advancement bank's response?

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 since the plantation came into remaining in 1911 and does not threaten human health.
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"A treatment plant for POME represents a multimillion dollar financial investment - cash that the company has actually chosen rather to spend on housing, clean water provision, health care and educational facilities for workers, their families and other members of the local neighborhoods.

"It is the goal 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 company has reconditioned or dug 72 new boreholes for the provision of tidy water in the last 6 years."

What does Feronia say?

The company stated working conditions had improved 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 average worker earned $3.30 daily - greater than what a local teacher would make, it said.
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It also confirmed that it had actually invested considerably in access to safe drinking water.

"Feronia operates on a social mandate with local neighborhoods. Without their support we would not have the ability to operate. We recognise that there is still a lot to be done and are dedicated to running to worldwide requirements. We will continue to work relentlessly to achieve these objectives," the company included a statement.
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