KINGSTON, Jamaica  — The Government is insisting that despite repeated efforts to correct “serious concerns” about payment and freedom of movement of doctors in the Cuban Medical Brigade programme and have them continue working in Jamaica, it has received no response from the Cuban government.

Noting that it had pushed for the agreement to continue and proposed that Jamaica pay the doctors directly among other changes, the Government in a statement on Sunday said:

“The Government of Jamaica is disappointed that the Cuban government has chosen to withdraw their medical personnel when all that is required is for them to agree to terms which they have already accepted with other Caribbean countries.”

Acknowledging that the United States had raised concerns about the programme, including a denial of access to travel documents, restricted freedom of movement and salary payment matters, publicly, the Government said it considered it necessary to review the existing arrangements to ensure compliance with domestic and international legal obligations.

That review found two issues, the first being that Cuban personnel were not in possession of their own passports.

“Once that was brought to the Government’s attention, immediate steps were taken to correct it. The issue was raised with Passport, Immigration and Citizenship Agency as well as the Cuban authorities locally to ensure that all personnel were allowed to hold their passports,” the release indicated.

The other issue, the government said, was 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.

Further, the only payments made directly by the Government of Jamaica to the personnel themselves were overtime payments and 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 release said.

Maintaining that it chose the path of “respectful engagement and quiet diplomacy” the government said beginning in July of last year, Jamaica commenced formal discussions with the Cuban authorities aimed at restructuring the arrangement.

The restructuring exercise would require that workers be paid directly and have control of their travel documents.

Following Cabinet discussions, a formal proposal was made in October, and this was followed up by a further formal communication in December.

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

“For absolute clarity, the Government of Jamaica proposed continuation of the programme with adjustments. It remains disappointed that despite these repeated efforts, no substantive response was ever received whether verbally or in writing from Cuba,” it said.

The Government noted that at the same time, Jamaica became aware that other Caribbean countries had arrangements under which Cuban medical personnel were paid directly, which made it even clearer that a lawful and transparent alternative was possible.

“Unfortunately, the continued lack of response had the practical effect of preserving an arrangement that Jamaica could not justify. Given our legal obligations, our duty to ensure fairness to workers in Jamaica, and the need for compliance with our own laws and international conventions, the Government ultimately concluded that continuation on the existing terms was untenable,” the Government said.

While noting that Jamaica has always valued the contribution of the Cuban medical professionals, the government said: “Jamaica’s position is therefore clear: we value the contribution of Cuban medical personnel, we respect the Cuban people, and we remain committed to cooperation. However, no programme operating in Jamaica can continue on terms that are inconsistent with Jamaican law and international conventions.”