KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC- President of the West Indies Players’ Association (WIPA), Wavell Hinds, says he will not tender his resignation in the wake of a fall-out with the members who are currently on tour in India.
The players, led by skipper Dwayne Bravo, have demanded Hinds’ resignation along with other officials of WIPA because of conflict of interest.
In a letter to Hinds Bravo said the players have lost confidence in the president because of the Collective Bargaining Agreement/Memorandum of Understanding he signed with the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) on their behalf.
“I must take this opportunity to remind you that there is a process embedded in WIPA’s Memorandum & Articles of Association regarding the election and removal of officers, and that your call for some members of the current executive and Board to resign is not supported by that process,” said Hinds in his letter to Bravo.
“We were placed here by the rules of our Association, and will leave only according to the will of the majority of our membership as provided for in those rules”.
Hinds, also WIPA’s chief executive, serves as Jamaica’s chairman of selectors and is a Board member of the Jamaica Cricket Association.
“There will be no resignation by any member of the current executive a,” declared Hinds.
“They (negotiating team) acted and fulfilled their duties properly in all the circumstances, including the subsequent ratification of the signing of the new agreement by the Directors present at our Board meeting held in Jamaica on October 2nd, 2014”.
The players protested the new terms of WIPA’s CBA/MOU deal with the WICB by threatening strike action on the eve of the first One-Day International against India on Wednesday.
They argue that the new agreement has reduced their income and that their Test, ODI and Twenty20 fees had been decreased by 75 per cent.
They also claim that their International Cricket Council fees have been decreased by “close to 100 per cent” and that they would not be compensated for the use of their rights under the new deal.
Hinds’ letter to Bravo dismisses those claims as false and says the new agreement reflects a 15 percent across the board increase in match fees and retainer contracts that range from 12.5% to 25%, along with the introduction of two new contract categories.
The WIPA president has also disputed Bravo’s claims that the players’ union is receiving, in addition to the 3% of all players earnings, a sum of $500,000.00 USD annually from WICB once the new agreement remains.
“The assertion is wrong on 2 counts: WIPA does not receive 3% of all players’ earnings. In fact there are many of our members who contribute nothing to the Association by way of dues – including a number of them who are currently on tour in India,” said Hinds.
“May I also remind you that it was this current WIPA executive which (at the request of some “senior players”) reduced the percentage of players’ earnings to be paid over as dues from the previous 5% to the current 3%”.
Hinds, a former West Indies cricketer, has also refuted claims that the players have not been consulted and sought to clarify concerns raised by Bravo about “special relationship” between WIPA and WICB.
“It is a departure from the adversarial nature which characterized it under WIPA’s previous leadership,” Hinds told Bravo in his letter.
“My Executive has made a designed effort to operate in an environment of mutual respect and professionalism, with the common goal of providing an opportunity to earn a livable wage for more of your fellow cricketers”.
