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DR Congo employees for Feronia made impotent by pesticides - HRW

25 November 2019

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

Feronia, which dominates DR sector, had failed to offer employees appropriate protective devices, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said.
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The UK government's development bank, CDC, owns 38% of Feronia in DR Congo.

It stated Feronia had invested greatly in protective equipment and all employees were required to wear it.
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Feronia, a Canadian-based firm, stated it was committed to running to worldwide standards.

The firm included that it had spent $360,000 (₤ 280,000) on personal protective equipment in the last 3 years, which employees had actually been trained to use, and it had actually carried out a policy needing the equipment to be used in the workplace.

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Feronia and its regional subsidiary, Plantations et Huileries du Congo (PHC), utilize thousands of 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 important role promoting development, however they are undermining their objective by stopping working to ensure the business they fund appreciates the rights of its employees and communities on the plantations," HRW scientist Luciana Téllez-Chávez said.

What is HRW's evidence?

In a report entitled A Harmful Mix of Abuses on Congo's Oil Palm Plantations, external, HRW stated it had actually spoken with more than 40 workers and two-thirds of them "informed us that they had ended up being impotent considering that they started the job".
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Impotence - along with shortness of breath, headaches, and weight reduction that the employees complained about - were health problems "consistent with direct exposure to pesticides in general, as described in clinical literature", HRW stated.
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"Many [likewise] experienced skin irritation, itchiness, blisters, eye problems, or blurred vision - all symptoms that follow what scientific texts and the products' labels refer to as health effects of direct exposure to these pesticides," the rights group added.
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Ms Téllez-Chávez said workers who had actually been interviewed had permeable cotton overalls - not the water resistant overalls.

"If pesticides accidentally spilled, the poisonous liquid would likely touch their skin," she added.

What else does HRW say?
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At the Yaligimba plantation, the business dumped the waste from its palm oil mill beside employees' homes.

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

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

If unattended and neglected, effluent-dumping could ultimately also trigger fish to suffocate and pass away, or trigger big developments of algae that could negatively affect the health of people who came into contact with polluted water or consumed tainted fish, HRW included.

The rights group also implicated Feronia of paying "severe poverty" wages, stating ladies were the lowest-paid, with some earning as low as $7.30 a month gathering fruit.

HRW stated the advancement banks ought to guarantee business they purchase pay living salaries to their workers.

What is the UK advancement bank's action?

In a statement, CDC said: "Palm Oil Mill Effluent (POME) is an organic mix of natural waste oils and fats and has actually been released into rivers given that the plantation entered 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 business has picked rather to invest in real estate, clean water arrangement, health care and academic centers for employees, their households and other members of the local neighborhoods.
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"It is the goal of the company to build treatment plants for POME, however is sadly not in a financial position to do so currently as it continues to make heavy losses.

"In addition, the business has actually reconditioned or dug 72 new boreholes for the provision of clean water in the last 6 years."
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What does Feronia state?
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The business stated working conditions had improved substantially because 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 typical employee made $3.30 each day - higher than what a local instructor would make, it stated.

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

"Feronia runs on a social required with local neighborhoods. Without their support we would not be able to operate. We identify that there is still a lot to be done and are committed to running to global requirements. We will continue to work relentlessly to achieve these objectives," the business included in a declaration.

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