NASSAU, Bahamas (CMC) – The Bahamian government on Wednesday rejected any notion that the country is engaged in forced labour as it responded to a recent announcement regarding the Cuban health brigade system that many Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries say has been beneficial to their citizens.

“The decision is based upon the fact that there is a belief that we are engaging in forced labour by hiring Cubans,” Prime Minister Phillip Davis told reporters on the sidelines of the RF Bahamas Economic Outlook Conference here.

“Our laws, starting from our constitution, prohibit that kind of engagement. This government will never or intend to engage in any forced labour. It’s against our laws, and we are a country of laws. We have indicated that we will review. We don’t think we have done it; we are not doing it, but we will review where we are and get back to him in due course,” he added.

Davis joins the prime ministers of Antigua and Barbuda, St Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago, who have all defended the Cuban health programme which they say has benefitted the region significantly, even as Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced recently that Washington would be expanding an existing Cuba-related visa restriction policy that targets forced labour linked to the Cuban labour export programme.

“This expanded policy applies to current or former Cuban government officials and other individuals, including foreign government officials, who are believed to be responsible for, or involved in, the Cuban labour export programme, particularly Cuba’s overseas medical missions,” said Rubio, who is due to visit the Caribbean this month.

Over the years, the Bahamian government has recruited Cuban health officials to work in the health sector here, and in a statement, Foreign Minister Fred Mitchell said the government is considering the policy, “but The Bahamas believes that it follows all international best practices in the recruitment of labour.”