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 actually suffered becoming impotent, a rights group has said.
Feronia, which controls DR Congo's palm-oil sector, had stopped working to provide workers appropriate 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 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 dedicated to operating to global standards.
The company included that it had actually spent $360,000 (₤ 280,000) on personal protective devices in the last 3 years, which workers had been trained to utilize, and it had executed 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 thousands of workers 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 important role promoting development, but they are sabotaging their objective by stopping working to ensure the business they fund respects the rights of its workers and communities on the plantations," HRW scientist Luciana Téllez-Chávez said.
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What is HRW's evidence?
In a report entitled A Hazardous Mix of Abuses on Congo's Oil Palm Plantations, external, it had actually spoken with more than 40 employees and two-thirds of them "told us that they had become impotent considering that they began the task".
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Impotence - along with shortness of breath, headaches, and weight reduction that the workers complained about - were health issue "constant with direct exposure to pesticides in general, as described in scientific literature", HRW stated.
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"Many [likewise] experienced skin inflammation, itching, blisters, eye problems, or blurred vision - all symptoms that are consistent with what scientific texts and the products' labels refer to as health effects 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 water resistant overalls.
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"If pesticides accidentally spilled, the hazardous liquid would likely touch their skin," she included.
What else does HRW say?
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At the Yaligimba plantation, the business disposed the waste from its palm oil mill beside employees' homes.
The effluents formed a "foul-smelling stream", and eventually flowed into a natural pond where females and children bathe and wash cooking utensils.
"Residents of a village of numerous hundred individuals downstream informed us the river was their only source of drinking water," Ms Téllez-Chávez stated.
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If unchecked and without treatment, effluent-dumping might eventually also trigger fish to suffocate and pass away, or cause big developments of algae that could adversely impact the health of people who entered into contact with contaminated water or consumed tainted fish, HRW included.
The rights group also implicated Feronia of paying "extreme poverty" incomes, stating females were the lowest-paid, with some earning as little as $7.30 a month event fruit.
HRW stated the advancement banks must make sure the companies they invest in pay living incomes to their workers.
What is the UK advancement bank's response?
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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 because the plantation entered being in 1911 and does not threaten human health.
"A treatment plant for POME represents a multimillion dollar investment - money that the business has picked rather to spend on real estate, tidy water provision, healthcare and instructional facilities for workers, their families and other members of the regional neighborhoods.
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"It is the objective of the company to build treatment plants for POME, however is regrettably not in a financial position to do so presently as it continues to make heavy losses.
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"In addition, the business has reconditioned or dug 72 new boreholes for the provision of tidy water in the last six years."
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What does Feronia say?
The business stated working conditions had actually enhanced significantly because the participation of the European banks in 2013.
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Employees were now paid considerably more than the minimum wage for agriculture in DR Congo and the average worker made $3.30 daily - higher than what a regional instructor would make, it stated.
It also verified that it had invested considerably in access to safe drinking water.
"Feronia runs on a social mandate with regional neighborhoods. Without their support we would not be able to work. We acknowledge that there is still a great offer to be done and are committed to running to worldwide requirements. We will continue to work tirelessly to achieve these goals," the company included a statement.
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DR Congo Workers for Feronia made Impotent By Pesticides - HRW
kiwhilario4215 edited this page 2025-01-18 10:46:17 +09:00