Cricket Australia Chairman Slams Australian Cricketers Association Over Pay Dispute

Jul 13, 2017 at 1:03 PM

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Cricket Australia Chairman Slams Australian Cricketers Association Over Pay Dispute

David Peever, Cricket Australia (CA) chairman, has slammed Australian Cricketers Association (ACA) for their campaign of ‘sustained ferocity’ in the ongoing tussle between the two bodies over the new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).

CA is keen to scrap the 20-year old revenue-share model of player payments which has helped the Australian cricketers to be among the best paid in the world. However, the ACA, firmly supported by the players has vehemently opposed the proposal.

The pay dispute began when CA stated that it wants to introduce a new model by claiming that the existing model no longer fits commercial realities and is robbing the grassroots of vital funding. Under the old model which expired on June 30 this year, leaving more than 200 Australian players unemployed, Australian and international players were allocated about 25 percent of revenues which were then dispersed among international and domestic players.

However, the Australian board wanted to introduce a new model under which only male international players would have the chance to share in any surplus revenue, while other domestic male players and women at both domestic and international level would have to settle for fixed amounts which would not fluctuate according to the game’s income.

But ACA rejected the proposal saying that it disrespects the value of domestic cricketers and the role they play in Australian cricket. The CA then offered a greater share of international surpluses, included domestic players in its sharing arrangement and opted to increase annual pay rises to state players but the players’ union was quick to reject it.

With both the parties at loggerheads, nothing positive has come out yet and the consequences are now coming to the surface. Recently, the players boycotted Australia A’s tour of South Africa and in case a pay deal is not struck soon, the upcoming series including the all-important Ashes are also likely to be boycotted by the players.

And amidst all these, Peever has come out in defence of CA, claiming that the proposal from the board has a ‘healthy pay increase’ for the male players as well as the good increase for their female counterparts.

“It includes healthy pay increases for male players. A more than 150 per cent increase in pay for female players and gender equity in both pay and conditions, along with a share of any surplus for all players and major increases in other support and benefits,” he wrote in his column for The Australian.

He further blasted the ACA for their ‘reckless’ strategy and blamed them for damaging the game.

“The ACA has responded by not only rejecting that proposal (and recent concessions) out of hand but by launching a campaign of such sustained ferocity that anyone could be forgiven for thinking CA was proposing the reintroduction of slavery,” he wrote.

“Not content with that level of overreaction, the ACA has gone much further, refusing to allow players to tour, threatening to drive away commercial sponsors and damage the prospects of broadcast partners, lock up player intellectual property into its own business ventures, and even stage its own games. It’s a reckless strategy that can only damage the game and therefore the interests of the ACA’s members,” he mentioned.

Peever also wrote of the importance of funds for development of cricket at the grassroots level.

“CA and the state and territory associations are responsible for the health of the entire game, not just the elite level where more than 70 per cent of the game’s total revenue is presently directed. We also have a responsibility to ensure that a fair share of the game’s resources is directed to other levels, including junior and grassroots cricket, where it is most sorely needed,” he said.

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