Gov’t urged to hire Cuban workers directly to prevent forced labour
Published:Wednesday | October 1, 2025 | 12:10 AMSashana Small/Staff Reporter
The Jamaican Government is being urged to hire Cuban workers directly and utilise hiring practices that are in line with domestic and international law to prevent forced labour among Cuban workers in Jamaica.
It was among the US State Department’s recommendations in the 2025 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report for Jamaica.
In March, Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness defended Jamaica’s use of Cuban medics to support the local health sector, declaring that there is no exploitation in the programme that has surfaced as a blot on the Trump administration’s radar.
He said the Government has ensured that the programme operates in accordance with international labour laws while asserting that the Cuban medics are “treated within our labour laws and that they benefit like any other worker”.
In its TIP report, the State Department also pressed Jamaica to fully implement its screening tools and its National Referral Mechanism to increase proactive identification and referral of potential trafficking victims among vulnerable groups.
Jamaica retained its Tier 2 status in the 2025 TIP report, which means that although the country does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking, it is making significant efforts to do so.
Still, the US State Department called on Jamaica to develop and finalise a new national policy to combat human trafficking and allocate resources for its implementation.
It noted that the island should increase efforts to investigate and prosecute traffickers, including officials who are complicit in human trafficking and foreign nationals or Jamaicans who exploit child sex trafficking victims, and seek adequate penalties for convicted traffickers, which should involve significant prison terms.
The report noted that authorities convicted two traffickers, one for sex trafficking and one for child labour trafficking, compared to convicting three sex traffickers during the previous reporting period.
It said the Government convicted both traffickers under the anti-trafficking law, compared to the prior year when it did not convict any traffickers under the trafficking law.
Courts sentenced the sex trafficker to serve 11 years and six months in prison and to pay restitution in the amount of J$2 million, and the child labour trafficker to serve two years’ imprisonment.
However, the report called for the Government to amend the anti-trafficking law to prescribe penalties for sex trafficking that are commensurate with penalties for other grave crimes by increasing the available maximum imprisonment term.
It also urged the Government to increase efforts to provide more victims with comprehensive, trauma-informed services, including reintegration support and support for the full length of any legal proceedings.
It also recommended that criminal justice officials be trained on provisions in the anti-trafficking law directing courts to order restitution to victims and ensure victims consistently receive court-ordered payments.
And it urged that the funding and human resources to ministries, departments, and agencies responsible for trafficking victim protection services, and strengthen capacity-building and risk assessment procedures within the child protection system be increased.