Jamaica raises labour law concerns in end of Cuban Medical Programme

The Government says it is disappointed that the Cuban Government has chosen to withdraw its medical personnel from Jamaica.

It says all that’s required for the programme to continue is for Cuba to agree to terms which they have already accepted with other Caribbean countries.

The Foreign Affairs Ministry made the comments as it gave a further update on the Technical Cooperation Programme in Health between Jamaica and Cuba which has ended.

The Foreign Affairs Ministry points out that Jamaica has always valued the contribution of the Cuban medical professionals, pointing out that Cuban nurses, doctors and technicians are treated by the Government with respect, care and appreciation.

According to the Ministry, it is widely known that the United States has publicly raised concerns about the operation of the medical programme globally, including a denial of access to travel documents, restricted freedom of movement and salary payment matters.

Jamaica says it considered it necessary to review the existing arrangements to ensure compliance with domestic and international legal obligations, noting that other countries in the region have done the same.

According to the Government, following the review, it was confirmed that there were no issues with treatment on the job, accommodation, leave entitlements or freedom of movement in Jamaica.

The review however revealed two issues which required immediate attention.

One was the fact that Cuban personnel were not in possession of their passports.

The Foreign Affairs Ministry says once that was brought to the Government’s attention, immediate steps were taken to correct it.

The issue was raised with the Passport, Immigration and Citizenship Agency (PICA) as well as the Cuban authorities locally to ensure that all personnel were allowed to hold their passports.

According to the Ministry statement, more fundamentally, the Government also discovered that salary payments for Cuban medical personnel, while calculated at the same level as their Jamaican counterparts, were being made by Jamaica to the Cuban authorities in US dollars.

The only payments made directly by Jamaica to the personnel themselves were overtime payments.

The statement says even more concerning, there was no contractual provision specifying what share of those salary payments was to be paid to the workers.

That arrangement raised serious concerns under Jamaican labour and tax laws as well as under international labour conventions.

The Government explains that it chose the path of respectful engagement and quiet diplomacy.

The Government says beginning last year in July, it commenced formal discussions with the Cuban authorities aimed at restructuring the arrangement to ensure compliance with Jamaican law and international conventions, which require that workers be paid directly and have control of their travel documents.

The Ministry says following Cabinet discussions, a formal proposal was made in October, and this was followed up by a further formal communication in December.

It states that these efforts were reinforced by direct enquiries to both former and current Cuban ambassadors, as well as informal engagements at the ministerial level.

The Government says it proposed continuation of the programme with adjustments, noting that it remains disappointed that despite these repeated efforts, no substantive response was ever received whether verbally or in writing from Cuba.

At the same time, Jamaica says it became aware that other Caribbean countries had arrangements under which Cuban medical personnel were paid directly.

It adds that that made it even clearer that a lawful and transparent alternative was possible.

The Ministry statement says unfortunately, the continued lack of response had the practical effect of preserving an arrangement that Jamaica could not justify.

It says given legal obligations, a duty to ensure fairness to workers in Jamaica, and the need for compliance with laws and international conventions, the Government ultimately concluded that continuation on the existing terms was untenable.

The Government says Jamaica’s position is clear, noting that while it values the contribution of Cuban medical personnel and remains committed to cooperation, no programme operating in Jamaica can continue on terms that are inconsistent with Jamaican law and international conventions.