“Pure greed”: Cricket union’s “concern” over pay deal standoff
Cricket Australia and the players union have made formal submissions over a new pay deal, and now the Mexican standoff will begin in earnest.
Cricket's pay negotiations are being played out against the backdrop of Australia's crowded summer schedule. Photo: Michael Errey / InDaily
Representatives from CA and the Australian Cricketers Association (ACA) started two days of talks in Melbourne yesterday.
The main point relates to the revenue-sharing model that dictates the salary of Steve Smith and his colleagues.
The status quo, in place since acrimonious talks in 1997, guarantees players a set percentage of CA’s revenue.
The parties have debated the merits of the system in the past, largely behind closed doors, and either reached agreement before their deadline or extended the existing memorandum of understanding on a short-term basis.
The presence of CA chairman David Peever, who championed individual contracts in his time as managing director of mining giant Rio Tinto, has led to speculation these could be particularly tense talks.
“We will take time to initially consider their position, but for now we are very concerned by some of the responses, and encouraged by others,” ACA chief executive Alistair Nicholson said in a statement.
“This will clearly be a very long negotiation and a very detailed discussion.
“CA have shared some information regarding the positions they hold, but we are still to receive full financial information regarding CA’s submission which will underpin the negotiations.
Former ACA chief executive Paul Marsh, who’s now pushing for a similar pay arrangement in the AFL as head of the Players’ Association, described CA’s desire for change as “pure greed” on Twitter.
CA's attempts to move away from a model that has been so successful are based on pure greed. Players are not silly enough to let it happen. https://t.co/jg0UTg4a8e
— Paul Marsh (@Marsh_Paul) December 10, 2016
CA was unwilling to comment on the pay talks.
Offspinner Nathan Lyon insisted the issue would not be a distraction for the Test side during a three-match series against Pakistan, which starts in Brisbane on Thursday.
“The players are working with the ACA, they’re doing a fantastic job to look after us and we’re purely focused on the pink-ball game here,” Lyon said on Monday.
“Whatever happens will happen, it’s out of our control. We’ll leave all the higher stuff to the big fellows and we’ll just worry about playing cricket.”
-AAP
