The US State Department has called on Antigua and Barbuda to introduce stronger safeguards for Cuban professionals working in the country.
In guidance issued recently, Washington recommended measures to prevent forced labour, including binding contracts signed by employers, workers, and the Cuban government; unannounced labour inspections; and registries of Cuban workers. It also advised ensuring that salaries are paid directly to workers, who should retain control of their passports and enjoy the same rights as local employees.
The US further urged Antigua and Barbuda to allow Cuban workers freedom of movement, social interaction, and housing choice, and to protect those who end contracts from reprisals if they return to Cuba.
Prime Minister Gaston Browne has defended the Cuban Medical Brigade programme, rejecting suggestions of exploitation. He said the government treats Cuban doctors and nurses fairly, compensates them appropriately, and places no restrictions on them, likening the arrangement to similar agreements with Ghanaian and Filipino professionals.
Antiguan authorities have yet to issue a formal response to the US recommendations.
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Ok so the USA is going to use the finances of Antigua tax payers as an incentive for cuban defection against the cuban government . Similar to the philipino people incentivization around the Caribbean pushed by the USA and UK to either undermine the Philippines government or prop it up.
Now Antigua tax dollar will help enforce American embargo and hegemony.
@Elread Did you read properly what are the issues USA is talking about? Antigua is not the problem, Antigua is turning eyes to the other side pretending they don’t know those facts. Antigua don’t have problem to have any Cuban working over here. Is the Government of Cuba that violate the Workers right of Cubans while working over here. That is salavery, one think you love to talk a lot about White People.. Castro Family is Pure White, Straight descendant from EU, all the powerful Generals and family that controls the Government of Cuba are Pure White. Few Black Muppet are in some position in the structure just for pure propaganda. But Cuba is owned by Castro and other family (All of them are Whites). You decided to turn eyes to the other side, talking about Embargo? Is this Whites Family who own Cuba who have Embargo to all Cubans. Their influence is too big, that even you clap loud to support those rich Whites. You hate Whites on power in USA, UK, etc. But you don’t hate Whites on power in Socialist society like Cuba, Venezuela, Russia, China, Nicaragua, North Korea.
And now America wants to dictate how we should run our country and programmes. Smfh
Cuba has been good to Antigua and barbuda. Donald Trump can go to he’ll and stay there
If you keep letting them immigration to Antigua they will displace the locals out of work. They should be forced to go back home at the end of their contract and help to rebuild Cuba to what it once was. Cuba right now is lacking in specialists because too many are abroad. Their health care system is crumbling, they have no specialists in country to fix their electrical / water grid and that is basic necessities
It’s been over 25 years since the first large batch of students went to Cuba to study. Why are we still dependent on a Cuban medical brigade? By now we should have a full cohort of medical specialists to cover the needs of the entire population. Poor planning and management of human resources by the government is why we are in this predicament. We need to do better.
Easier said than done. Who will pay for the inspections, the registries, and the extra oversight? Small island states don’t have unlimited resources to implement all these U.S. demands
It seem as if we are in a troubling sticky situation here but nothing that World Boss aka Ras Gassy cannot deal with
My my …..but won’t do the same for them in USA. Any way, no worker any where in the world should ever be exploited.
If Cuban doctors are being paid fairly and treated well here, then proving it shouldn’t be a problem.
PM Browne defending the Cuban medical program is expected, but he should also take the recommendations seriously. It’s about protecting people, not politics.
Tell Trump that and when they in boat and they arrive in Florida welcome them with open arms, treat them well, give them political asylum after ALL YOUR FAMILY FROM CUBA AND YOU TREAT THE MIGRANTS SO POORLY, Antigua know how to handle their business. Stop
Tell Trump that and when they in boat and they arrive in Florida welcome them with open arms, treat them well, give them political asylum after ALL YOUR FAMILY FROM CUBA AND YOU TREAT THE MIGRANTS SO POORLY, Antigua know how to handle their business. Stop
Why is Washington always meddling in the internal affairs of small nations? Antigua and Barbuda should be free to decide how it manages its workforce without U.S. interference
Cuba has always sent doctors and teachers abroad to help struggling countries. These accusations of forced labor are exaggerated and politically motivated.
@aps: sorry if you miss interpret me as just been against skin color, I am against ethno supremacists ideology, the same Castro you spoke of eradicated the black and white segregation from cuba in the 1950’s Jim crow era that was the exact replica of what was happening in the USA and apartheid south Africa at the time, and don’t forget that Castro help to fight that same racism in south Africa, nelson Mandela was a lawyer by profession, and when he wanted to defend his black clients during apartheid , he couldn’t stand in the court room as the white lawyers, he was placed behind curtain in another room, and these are the things Castro and che Guevara fought against, it was the era of fighting jim crow ethno supremacists ideology, even the late V C Bird brought this lady Carnegie to reccoration ground to sing because in the USA she had to sing from behind curtains because the white people called her a monkey , Castro never disrespect black skin color, guess aps is not a student of history, though the ethno supremacists doctrine naturally make lighter skin color entitled, in Cuba blacks are more of a human than what obtain in Antigua at the time, while we were going school and there is someone in the class of a lighter complexion they were treated better by the teacher than the darker complexion students, the villages had larger tracks of lands allocated for the mulatto or Caucasian people in Antigua too, even the doctors were lighter complexion that black doctors were refused especially when Cuba start educating black poor people to be doctors, the same ALP government was a marionette of the USA and refused them in the system, a feat that the late great Tim Hector accomplished without office or political power, getting our young poor black people to become doctors and engineers, where they are discriminated against by the elites who goes to lilly white institution to achieve their degree. That’s the sin Castro committed, eradicated Jim crowism that you see been practiced at mill reef and jumby bay and PLH in Barbuda with buffer zone granted by a young prime minister Gaston we dubbed as educated, I suggest he is a coconut, brown outside and white inside, and hope your logics are not coming from that prospective? When you can’t understand that we are been forced by the USA to incentivize the embargo against Cuba at the cost or health of the Antiguan people, it’s no sense of making my polemics.
@Eldread Im Cuban by the way. Castro big achievement is to give speech using the narrative of “Defending the people”. Castro utilize the poor to get in power and be in power for decades. HE use Africa to increase his influence in the world. He become the sole owner of a country. Apartheid? Imagine he transform Cuba into a mess, Only one ideology is allowed Morally and legally. If you don’t want to be part of that movement inside Cuba, you really will know what is Apartheid. Castro become the sole owner of the Cuba island. You talking about PHL? Lmao. Castro took all luxury property for himself, family and Generals in power to dominate the whole country. Nobody can walk freely near his properties. All his family enjoy the best of the best of lavish life that you can’t imagine.
Castro know how to manipulate poor people, for him giving “Education for Free” was nothing, but he gained influence and that is a chess game. Influence is power, something that Castro use in his propaganda very well. You are not upset of Whites when they give the kind of speech you like, because you are to easy to control, that just telling you what you want to heard is enough. You like Castro because he always use USA in his speech as the Major “Imperialist opponent” and you like that kind of narrative. But there is no difference between “White socialist” and “White Capitalist”. They want to dominate the masses and stay in power as long they can, and of course become rich on the process, while the whole society crumble in poverty, Leftist don’t want to eradicate poverty because they will lose “Votes”, they will expand the poverty and lower the standard of “Quality life” to keep people dependent from the State. If you become successful in business you no need no State to drive your life, you gain power, and that is something dangerous for Socialist Leaders, having too much people in his country that no need support from them, reduce the power of dominance in the masses. That is why Castro Family don’t allow Cubans do better, because they will lose. They prefer sink the whole country under the sea.
Take this advise. “The last thing you want in life, is a State telling you they will take care of your needs” Run from that, never ever support anybody who is telling you they will take care of your personal life. Always defend the 3 basic thing: Right of Freedom, Right of Life and Right of Private property.