Governing body sends letter to the ACA following 'encouraging' meetings in a bid to resolve deadlock
Pay talks advance as CA revise MOU offer
Cricket Australia has moved to break the impasse over a new Memorandum of Understanding by revising its offer to increase the level of surpluses shared by international players and including domestic cricketers in that arrangement.
The offer, outlined in a letter sent today by CA's Executive General Manager Kevin Roberts to Chief Executive of the Australian Cricketers' Association Alistair Nicholson, addresses a fundamental impasse in negotiations which have stalled with a new deal due to be signed by July 1.
The ACA had staunchly opposed CA's proposal to modify the existing MOU that provides a flat share of revenue for the players, and instead offer international men's and women's players a share of surpluses up to $20 million while increases for domestic players' payments would be capped at 18 per cent (men) and 150 per cent (women).
Today's letter also confirms that new contracts have been distributed to all Australian men's and women's players that are conditional upon a new MOU being finalised, with a guarantee that any additional pay increases negotiated as a result of the revised offer will be reflected in those contracts.
The full text of Roberts' letter appears below.
Meetings between CA and the ACA over the last fortnight have been encouraging and we remain optimistic that continued momentum will result in a new MOU being agreed by 30 June.
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. Player feedback suggests that the sharing of international cricket surpluses with male and female domestic players and the level of pay increases for male state players are critical issues for them. We are therefore writing to indicate that CA is prepared to address these issues to help achieve a new MOU.
Specifically, CA is now offering to:
- increase the international cricket surpluses that are shared with players,
- include all domestic players in the sharing arrangements, and
- increase annual pay rises to male state players (with commensurate increases for WNCL and WBBL players to maintain gender pay equity)
CA looks forward to agreeing the details of this new offer in further negotiations with the ACA.
On a related matter and as previously advised, contract offers are being distributed to all players to give them an opportunity to seek advice. These contracts are conditional upon a new MOU being agreed. If further increases in pay are agreed for male state players, along with WNCL and WBBL players due to the increases contemplated above, the offers in the contracts would be varied accordingly. The contracts would not require any variation for the inclusion of domestic players in the sharing of any international cricket surpluses above the level required to fund player payments.
We trust that the ACA will respond positively to this new offer that CA is proposing in order to achieve a positive outcome for the players and the game.