ACA reject CA's new MOU proposal

Cricket Australia's bid to bridge the impasse over a new Memorandum of Understanding has been dismissed by the players' union, which claims the new offer does not deliver a share of revenue for all players and fails to accurately portray how far apart the two parties remain with seven days until the current agreement expires.

CA's Executive General Manager Strategy, People and Member Services Kevin Roberts wrote to the ACA's Chief Executive Alistair Nicholson this morning to outline the revised proposal which addressed concerns raised by players during a recent round of meetings.

Roberts, a former New South Wales batsman who is a life member of the ACA, said the feedback gained led to a revamp of CA's initial MOU proposal relating to the sharing of surpluses among all international players, and the level of pay increase offered to men's domestic cricketers.

As a result, CA confirmed it would increase the amount of cricket surpluses (originally capped at $20 million, to be shared by men's and women's international players) and that it would be expanded to also include all men's and women's domestic cricketers.

In addition, the annual pay rises offered to domestic players – which under the initial CA proposal amounted to 18 per cent for men and 150 per cent for women over the course of five years – would be increased.

"CA has listened to feedback from players and has also invited the ACA to explore the flexibility we are prepared to offer in order to conclude a new MOU," said Roberts, who is heading CA's negotiations for the new five-year MOU.

The letter also confirmed that all players have been sent new contract offers that are conditional upon a new MOU being agreed, with the latest proposed increases for domestic men and women players to be reflected in the amended documents if accepted.

Less than six hours later, the Australian Cricketers' Association formally rejected the revised deal claiming the contract offers do not contain revenue sharing for all players, and "are not what they appear to be".

"The ACA has advised players not to sign," the ACA said in a statement released late today

"The letter provided to players today from CA does not accurately reflect how far apart the parties remain with a week to go.

"The parties have not reached agreement on many fundamental issues.

"This remains unacceptable."

The union also took issue with CA sending the contract offers direct to their employees and not via the ACA, and repeated their request for CA to release detailed financial information to enable proper assessment of CA's proposal.

CA released a statement this evening pointing out that the contract offers do not require signatures as they are subject to an MOU agreement being reached, and added that a full raft of available financial details was provided to the ACA earlier this week.

"This information is sufficient for players and their union to assess CA’s pay offer," the CA statement said.

"As CA has explained many times to the ACA, 80 per cent of cricket’s revenue is uncontracted for the next five years, and confidential scenarios are the appropriate and financially responsible way to approach the issue."

CA's new offer more closely mirrors the six-year deal signed between the Australian Football League and their 700 contracted players this week, which delivered footballers an immediate 20 per cent pay rise with further annual increases of between one and two per cent over the remaining five years.

The AFL Players Association, led by former ACA boss Paul Marsh, welcomed the agreement that lifted players' average annual salary to around $370,000 a year and for the first time granted them a 28 per cent share of the AFL's forecast football revenue.

As well as the potential to share a further 28 per cent of unbudgeted surpluses should the League exceed its own projections.

The deal was hailed by CA because it reflected their MOU proposal by granting players a "share in additional revenue after expenses are taken into account … this is more akin to a profit share".

The ACA also congratulated the football code on the agreement, praising the spirit of partnership that had delivered it while noting "the AFL is at a different stage of evolving the partnership than cricket … but what's clear is that this sense of co-operation is the way to go".

The impasse between the rival cricket parties remains the revenue share model, which CA wants to modify and which the ACA is staunchly defending.

The union, on behalf of around 300 contracted men's and women's cricketers, have offered an alternative proposal that calls for a "modernisation of the existing revenue sharing model" that broadens what is defined as revenue, and from which the players would take a slightly reduced (22.5 down from around 25) percentage.

Under that proposal, a further 22.5 per cent would be allocated to grassroots cricket and the remaining 55 per cent for CA to administer the game, a model that CA has rejected because it retains the principle of revenue sharing which they claim is an impediment to running a flexible business.

Earlier in the day, ACA president and former Test wicketkeeper Greg Dyer called for the parties' respective CEOs – CA's James Sutherland and Nicholson - to engage in "emergency mediation" to break the impasse with a week remaining before the current MOU expires.

"We are hopeful that the common sense offers of flexibility made in negotiations will be treated more respectfully in an elevated and mediated environment," Dyer said.

He also reiterated that the players were committed to retaining the existing revenue share model, and repeated the ACA's call for CA to provide detailed financial information and forecasts that underpin their MOU proposal.

"To date, CA has only been willing to provide financial 'scenarios' and 'formulas', which lack the detail and scope required," Dyer said.

If a deal on a new MOU is not reached by next Friday's deadline, more than half of Australia's professional cricketers will be out of contract and effectively unemployed.