BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC – Regional players union WIPA has maintained that the proposed International Cricket Council’s mediation in their impasse with the West Indies Cricket Board, lacked the power to broker a solution.
In a release late yesterday, the players body denied the WICB’s earlier claims that mediation by cricket’s world governing body could have been binding, had both bickering parties agreed to such a deal.
“The ICC/ FICA proposal as contained in its document to WIPA indicates under the heading ‘Degree of Authority’: ‘that the scope of authority vested on ICC/FICA is only to discuss and recommend joint proposals, where possible. No power to bind the WICB or WIPA’,” WIPA said.
“Clearly the process outlined above by the ICC and FICA requires the two parties to come to an agreement whereas the Special Arbitration requires the presentation of the arguments of the two parties and culminates in a ruling by the Arbitration Panel which is binding.”
The WIPA salvo is the latest twist in the ongoing verbal battle with the WICB, which was sparked by the recent Champions League Twenty20 controversy involving Guyana.
WIPA last week accused the WICB of preferring “to expend large sums of money in pursuing arbitration”, with the WICB hitting back with the claim that it was WIPA who actually preferred the arbitration route, after rejecting an offer from the ICC and international players body FICA, to help broker a deal in the bitter, long-running dispute.
In their retort, WIPA said there was no need for the ICC/FICA intervention since such mediation would have been non-binding.
WIPA on Wednesday also disagreed with the WICB’s assertion that it had refused to discuss a new Collective Bargaining Agreement and Memorandum of Understanding, and that it was in breach of the New York Agreement struck last October.
The WICB had accused WIPA of delaying tactics which had “stymied any chance of an agreement – by the December 2009 date as outlined in the New York Agreement – on the terms of reference for the arbitration.”
“There was no timeframe set out in the New York Agreement for the Special Arbitrations as articulated by the WICB,” WIPA advanced.
“With regards to the CBA/MOU negotiations, it was agreed by representatives of both parties following meetings on October 14th 2009 and November 26th 2009 that completion of this process would be impossible by December 31st 2009.
“WIPA forwarded its position in writing on 7th December 2009 in respect of the proposed CBA/MOU and has had no response from the WICB.”
