ST. JOHN’S, Antigua,  CMC – The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) is proposing to roll out a new Memorandum of Understanding featuring a players’ contracts plan embracing 99 players and worth in excess of US $800,000.

The decision comes against the backdrop of the recent bitter contracts dispute with the West Indies Players’ Association, and was taken by the WICB’s directors on the first day of their Annual General Meeting on Sunday here.
“We want this new agreement in effect by October 1 this year, so that we can plan for the future,” said West Indies Cricket Board President Julian Hunte in a WICB news release.

“We must agree on a long-term arrangement that commits a percentage of our resources to the players with the rest allocated to cricket development, institutional capacity, tournaments, and tours.

“In addition, we need to establish the framework for managing the relationship with WIPA and the players to ensure that we live up to our obligations and be able to manage the performance of players.”

Under the new plan, 15 players will receive annual retainer contracts and the remaining 84 will be offered newly-introduced, yearly Territorial Contracts.

The WICB has also proposed to add all players who are awarded retainer and/or territorial contracts to the Players’ Provident Fund which goes towards retirement.

At present, only persons selected to the senior West Indies team are members of the Fund.
Any non-contracted player who is selected to play would receive a ‘Pay-for-Play’ contract.
Hunte added that the new MOU – which ought to be in place until September 2012 – is also expected to outline the structure for player salaries.

“Payments will be based on a percentage share of the aggregate projected WICB revenue, and there will be provision for annual increases in the Retainer Contract Allocations and Fixed Payments,” he said.

“There will also be variable payments based, for example, on ICC team rankings and other performance-related criteria.”

Hunte said that signing a new MOU – and Collective Bargaining Agreement – is critical to the progress and stability of West Indies cricket and that the WICB wants to handle this matter expeditiously.

He concluded that the WICB is awaiting a response on the draft MOU (which was sent on July 28) from the West Indies Players’ Association.