HEALTH and Wellness Minister Dr Michael Darville officially welcoming 50 Cuban nurses into the public healthcare system, including specialised nurses. Dr Darville said the nurses will help to ensure Bahamian healthcare services remain open and functioning.
By RASHAD ROLLE
and EARYEL BOWLEG
Tribune Staff Reporters
THE Bahamian government may be required to prove that Cuban workers in The Bahamas receive their salaries directly, rather than through the Cuban government, as the United States threatens to expand visa restrictions to foreign officials involved in Cuba’s labour export programme.
International Labour Organisation rules generally require that workers be paid directly and have full control over their earnings.
Reports from some countries where Cuba operates similar labour export programmes indicate that between 75 percent and 90 percent of the workers’ wages are retained by the Cuban government, with only a fraction remitted to them.
Asked yesterday about the local situation, Foreign Affairs Minister Fred Mitchell declined to comment.
The US government has long claimed that Cuba’s state-run medical missions amount to forced labour, arguing they enrich the Cuban regime at the expense of Cuban professionals.
Under a new visa restriction policy, foreign government officials involved in these programmes— including those in The Bahamas — could be barred from entering the United States if they cannot provide evidence that workers are fairly compensated and not coerced.
Yesterday, Human Rights Bahamas (HRB) called on officials to clarify how Cuban workers are compensated.
The organisation also called on the government to say whether Cuban workers have freedom of movement or any restrictions imposed by Cuban authorities.
“HRB encourages the government to fully and clearly explain its position on this matter so that the reputation of The Bahamas is preserved and not subjected to any misinformation or mischaracterisation on the international stage,” the group said.
Prime Minister Philip "Brave" Davis has denied that the country engages in forced labour but said the government is reviewing the US policy.
The Cuba question has arisen despite The Bahamas maintaining a Tier 1 ranking in the 2024 Trafficking in Persons report, indicating it meets international standards for combatting human trafficking. The Bahamas is one of the few countries in the world with the highest rating, but the US has continually recommended stronger efforts to identify potential trafficking victims among Cuban workers in government-sponsored programmes.
In a voice note yesterday, Bahamas Union of Teachers President Belinda Wilson said the government employs 130 Cuban teachers.
She said these teachers play a vital role to fill the gap because of the teacher shortage especially in those disciplines or subject areas where the local expertise is not readily available.
“My experience is that the Cuban teachers who are recruited enjoy the same benefits as Bahamian teachers and other educators,” she said. “In fact, in some instances, more benefits, such as a gratuity payment at the end of their contracts.”
It is unclear how many Cuban medical professionals are in The Bahamas.
Comments
One 3 days, 9 hours ago
Meanwhile, young Bahamian nurses and medical techs are leaving the Bahamas to work in other countries because the pay and the opportunities are inadequate to support a Bahamian standard of living.
hrysippus 3 days, 8 hours ago
This could be really good news for the Bahamian economy. If we assume that the Bahamas government is not paying the Cuban workers directly but instead send the wages to the Cuban government, as is usually done in the past, then FillUp, Fred, and their political cronies may well get their US visas cancelled. The country would save hundreds of millions of dollars in travel expenses. Everyone should pray for this outcome.....Sigh.
TalRussell 2 days, 20 hours ago
@hrysippus, We import Nurses' whilst exporting we Policemans' to Haiti. -- Yes?
JokeyJack 1 day, 7 hours ago
Tal, no distance is too far for you to reach to defend the PLP right? You are the wackiest. Teachers in the Bahamas who are REAL teachers are treated like dogs by admin and parents, meanwhile those "in the clique" ... well, let's just say they know every square inch of the teachers lounge. Power off, water off, Internet off, educated Bahamians "off" to work in other countries. The FNM & PLP oughta just admit they are in fact the same Party and change their 3-letter Party name to OFF.
ExposedU2C 3 days, 5 hours ago
This slimy SOB has for years been telling his political colleagues that the human rights abuses being committed here by The Bahamas are perfectly justified by the U.S. continuing to "poach" from our small nation newly trained, qualified, and experienced, Bahamian medical doctors, nurses, and medical technicians.
But what sleasy Fwreddy Boy refuses to accept and acknowledge is that the U.S. government is fully aware the very corrupt leadership of our political parties, especially the PLP, is responsible for creating the poor social and economic conditions that have caused the very serious brain-drain our small nation has been suffering from since the 1980s.
birdiestrachan 3 days, 1 hour ago
Will human rights speak to Trump. Hell no they will not
birdiestrachan 2 days, 23 hours ago
Those who call themselves human rights . If the USA says something then it is so . Never mind their records on Human rights. It does not matter
TalRussell 2 days, 21 hours ago
Those ALL around Premiership is to tread carefully. -- The Elon/Trump presidency has appointed rogue individuals throughout the US Justice Department who have a history of a willingness to kiss the rings of Elon/Trump. -- Their threats add up to --- they don't care if it means -- detaining residents/visitors on trumped-up charges. -- Yes?
ExposedU2C 2 days, 5 hours ago
LOL. Who needs "trumped-up charges" to detain/arrest the criminals within our ruling political elite (and the criminals among their wealthier cronies and financial-backers) when so much hard evidence exists that has been gathered by the U.S. intelligence agencies in recent decades.
bogart 2 days, 5 hours ago
The long continuous Communist Cuba government is on the evil communist ideology which is the opposite and authoritarian govt of their people with repressive policies of their people which is the opposite to the Bahamian constitution freedoms and rights.
Every often there are these sad stories of its population trying to escape their country to seek freedom in nearby countries when many lose their lives trying to float away in inner inflated vehicle tires, make shrift rafts with bottles of water in the hot sun, some piloting the govt agriculture spray planes to the US, some putting a propeller on the rear wheel drive shaft and surrounding the truck with a bow and floats to the US, some going abroad on programs and the defecting to the countries for freedom. Many, many stories an horrible endeavors for freedom and many stories of many who lose their lives.
Somehow after all those years of attempts to escape the communist country it seems that there is a absolute refusal to make the dash for freedom in democratic run countries. If it isn't the issue of the money, then why?
TalRussell 2 days, 2 hours ago
TO go uninterrupted, employ Cuba's Healthcare Professionals. -- Start threatening to impose 'Retaliatory Tariffs' on all Guns and Ammunitions' entering into the Bahamas in the air and on sea waters. -- Yes?
bogart 2 days ago
Cuba communist government from inception has been spreading its evil communist ideology to other countries.
The spreading of its communist views was through its various forms of assistances and in support of its communist repression of the population.
Some of the past incursions into other countries assistance was like the support and construction of a long runway capable for heavy military use aircraft on the tiny Grenada island and leader Mr. Bishop who did not fare too well, another incursion was into Angola with its communist troops which did not fare too well, other was in Guyana with its main communist backer Russia and influences leading to chaos in taking over enterprises as state businesses. Support and communist influences in numbers of central american countries with communist groups forever fighting governments creating havoc with peoples lives. No country should be furthering the evil communist countries with a record of repressing peoples rights, seizing peoples properties for the state and the denial fundamental rights of freedoms like those in the free world enjoy.
Current example of communist ideology in action is like Ukraine, one of the largest grain producing nation supplying grains to the world's struggling nations being deciminated by neighbouring communist nation.
ExposedU2C 1 day, 21 hours ago
The simple truth of the matter is the Bahamian and Cuban governments should not be involved in human trafficking activities for their mutual benefit that abuse the fundamental rights of the humans preyed on and made subject to the illicit trafficking. Such crimes against humanity are illegal under international law. It's really as simple as that.
And let's try not forget that the ancestors of many Bahamians had their rights seriously abused when they were sold to the highest bidder and trafficked across borders to become cruelly treated as slaves many moons ago.
Our brain-drain problem is a direct result of decades of failed social and economic policies because we, the Bahamian voters, have been foolishly allowing corrupt and incompetent politicians to seek elected office with the intention of feathering their own nests while representing the interests of their financial-backers and cronies rather than the interests of the Bahamian people.
bogart 1 day, 10 hours ago
Possible solution.
In light of the crises and the root of the issues going to the continuing attachment to communist regimes versus the democratic based regimes seems to be at least offer Political Asylum to these Cuban medical personnel and the teachers.
There are some 24,000 Cuban medical personnel in some 56 foreign countries filling critical gaps in those countries, should at least offered Political Asylum to remain and bring their immediate families to live democratic countries and of course their wages remain in those countries.
ExposedU2C 1 day, 7 hours ago
Sadly many of these so called "recruited" Cuban medical workers are not as qualified as our corrupt government officials have led us to believe. The quality of healthcare training in Cuba and the entire Cuban healthcare system have significantly declined over the last three decades and the quality and standards of Cuban doctors, nurses, medical technicians, hospitals, medical schools, etc. are nowhere near what they once were.
The Cuba of yesterday is not the Cuba of today as evidenced by the fact that its corrupt communist regime cannot even provide the Cuban people with the essentials of everyday life like food, electricity, water, medicines, and yes, even basic medical care of an acceptable quality.
And the presence of the evil ChiComs in Cuba have done absolutely nothing for that country as is the case for most nation's that they seek to greatly exploit for their own purposes with little regard for the needs and interests of the indigenous people.
The Cuban medical personnel being recruited by our healthcare officials are for all intents and purposes seeking political asylum, but they are at the same time being taken advantage of (abused) by corrupt government officials in both the Cuban and Bahamian governments in what has been transformed into an illegal profiteering human trafficking scheme.
Our government must avoid announcing that it is willing to open our country's door to political asylum seekers as doing so could have dire consequences for our small nation with its very limited land and other resources, especially given our many existing problems associated with an already unsustainable population of illegal immigrants.
Keep in mind that the failed states of both Cuba and Haiti have enormous populations and telling their suffering and destitute people that we are willing to open our doors to asylum seekers would undoubtedly have disastrous implications for The Bahamas and the Bahamian people.
And let's not forget for one moment that the present U.S. administration is hell-bent on purging itself of illegal aliens by sending them back to the last country they were in before illegally entering the U.S.
bogart 1 day, 5 hours ago
Political asylum, perhaps not but a residency system based on skill levels and other points. A point should be for period of work location to family islands with housing for the approved resident medical personnel.
On the amounts of people involved from what seems to be the present levels currently employed in the Bahamas, seems to be a few hundred Cubans compared to the some 30,000 ? workers who annually seek to renew work permits and only some 12,000 have permits renewed.
Authorities need to publish these work permit data. No corrupt govt official(s) should not be a part of a system where humans, individually or in groups are rented out to other countries for a money price decided between one controlling govt official and another country's govt official especially when a democracy based constitution of freedoms and human rights as humans and government is a party.
ExposedU2C 1 day, 7 hours ago
Investigative journalists in our main stream news media need to begin investigating exactly who among certain of our more corrupt senior government officials, including those with close financial ties to them, are deriving significant financial benefit from the abusive and illegal human trafficking schemes involving medical workers "recruited" from other countries like Cuba and Ghana. Start with Darville as our minister of health!
All government contracts associated with the procurement of these medical workers from other governments under coercive circumstances need to be fully investigated, especially as regards all of their housing costs and other living allowances.
TalRussell 1 day, 6 hours ago
WILL YOU commit to forgo the Elon/Trump MAGA remake of America: --- No more Florida Shoppin' nor Amazon. -- Submit to a Voluntarily VISA Surrender? -- Yes?
sheeprunner12 1 day ago
Truth be told ........ Many Cuban teachers who come here on contract NEVER return to Cuba.
Go and research that, Mr. Tribune.
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