Board, players dispute WIPA’s legitimacy in new deal

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – The West Indies Cricket Board and dissatisfied players have found themselves at odds over the legitimacy of the West Indies Players Association’s role in negotiating players’ contracts.

West Indies T20 captain Darren Sammy … claims WIPA does not represent T20 World Cup squad.
West Indies T20 captain Darren Sammy … claims WIPA does not represent T20 World Cup squad.

This disagreement was highlighted in an exchange of letters between West Indies Twenty20 captain Darren Sammy and WICB chief executive, Michael Muirhead, in the latest contracts impasse to hit West Indies cricket.

In a letter to Muirhead on behalf of the T20 squad, Sammy rejected the notion that WIPA was their legitimate representative.

“As a group, we don’t accept that WIPA can represent us. WIPA became conflicted during its negotiations with you and compromised itself,” Sammy wrote.

“It could not and did not actively represent the best interests of all West Indies cricketers and is a major reason we are having this discussion.”

Sammy and the players are contending that the remuneration on offer from the board for the T20 World Cup next month is unacceptable, and have called for a return to the amounts offered under the previous contract.

He said for the T20 World Cup four years ago, the lowest paid player was guaranteed almost US$60 000 while the highest player stood to make almost US$138 000.

With only US$27 600 on offer for the upcoming tournament, Sammy argued this represented between a 50 and 80 per cent pay cut for players.

“We cannot accept the terms on offer. The players are not happy and understandably so with such big differences,” Sammy wrote.

“The previous structure worked and players were happy and understood it.”

In his response, Muirhead highlighted the role of WIPA as the sole bargaining agent for West Indies players and argued that the issues highlighted had been negotiated and agreed to by the players union.

The Jamaican pointed out that details of the new contract deal had been shared with players nine months ago and no objections had been raised.

“Any issues you or a particular group of players may have with the representation you receive from your association, respectfully, are best taken up with WIPA,” Muirhead wrote.

“As it stands however, WIPA is the exclusive collective bargaining agent for West Indian players – regardless of who those particular players may be at any given time.

“Kindly note that the terms on offer were negotiated and agreed between WICB and WIPA with the assistance of representatives from the ICC and FICA (International Cricketers Association) during a mediation process last year, and all parties agreed that they were fair and equitable and acceptable to be offered to the members WI team selected for the relevant ICC Event.”

He added that because of the “input and effort” that went into reaching the agreement, the WICB was not prepared to “unilaterally vary the position at this time, or to negotiate different terms without the involvement or endorsement of WIPA.”

Muirhead said the new players deal had come about because of an ICC revamp agreed on two years ago where payments to members would be distributed over an eight-year period instead of for a particular tournament.

WIPA’s relationship with West Indies players broke down considerably two years ago during the controversial abandoned tour of India, stemming from a similar contracts dispute.