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DR Congo employees for Feronia made impotent by pesticides - HRW
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25 November 2019

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

Feronia, which controls DR Congo's palm-oil sector, had failed to provide employees appropriate protective equipment, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said.

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

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

Feronia, a Canadian-based company, stated it was devoted to operating to international requirements.

The company added that it had invested $360,000 (₤ 280,000) on personal protective equipment in the last 3 years, which workers had been trained to use, and it had actually implemented a policy requiring the equipment to be used in the office.

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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 gotten countless dollars from the development banks of Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and the UK.

"These banks can play an essential role promoting development, however they are sabotaging their objective by stopping working to make sure the business they fund respects the rights of its workers and communities on the plantations," HRW researcher Luciana Téllez-Chávez said.

What is HRW's evidence?

In a report entitled A Hazardous Mix of Abuses on Congo's Oil Palm Plantations, external, HRW stated it had spoken with more than 40 employees and two-thirds of them "informed us that they had actually ended up being impotent given that they began the job".
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Impotence - together with shortness of breath, headaches, and weight loss that the employees complained about - were health issues "consistent with direct exposure to pesticides in basic, as explained in clinical literature", HRW said.

"Many [likewise] struggled with skin irritation, itchiness, blisters, eye issues, or blurred vision - all symptoms that are consistent with what clinical texts and the products' labels explain as health consequences of exposure to these pesticides," the rights group added.

Ms Téllez-Chávez said workers who had been spoken with 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 added.

What else does HRW say?

At the Yaligimba plantation, the company dumped the waste from its palm oil mill beside workers' homes.

The effluents formed a "foul-smelling stream", and ultimately streamed into a natural pond where ladies and children shower and wash cooking utensils.
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"Residents of a village of a number of hundred people downstream told us the river was their only source of drinking water," Ms Téllez-Chávez said.

If uncontrolled and unattended, effluent-dumping might eventually also trigger fish to suffocate and pass away, or cause large developments of algae that could negatively impact the health of people who came into 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 just $7.30 a month event fruit.

HRW stated the development banks need to ensure the businesses they purchase pay living incomes to their employees.

What is the bank's response?

In a statement, CDC said: "Palm Oil Mill Effluent (POME) is a natural mix of natural waste oils and fats and has actually been discharged 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 - cash that the company has selected instead to invest in housing, clean water arrangement, healthcare and educational facilities for employees, their families and other members of the local neighborhoods.

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

"In addition, the company has actually refurbished or dug 72 brand-new boreholes for the arrangement of clean water in the last six years."

What does Feronia state?

The business stated working conditions had actually enhanced considerably because the participation of the European banks in 2013.

Employees were now paid significantly more than the minimum wage for farming in DR Congo and the average employee made $3.30 each day - greater than what a regional teacher would earn, it said.

It likewise confirmed that it had actually invested considerably in access to safe drinking water.
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"Feronia runs on a social required with local neighborhoods. Without their support we would not have the ability to work. We acknowledge that there is still a lot to be done and are committed to operating to worldwide standards. We will continue to work relentlessly to attain these goals," the company included a statement.

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