Cricket Aust chairman rages, talks go on
Jul 13, 2017 - 7:20 AM Many Australian cricketers have been stunned to see the word "slavery" invoked by boss David Peever in the ugly pay stoush but his fiery opinion piece is not expected to derail talks.Cricket Australia (CA) chairman Peever broke his silence on the pay spat on Thursday in forthright fashion, accusing the Australian Cricketers' Association (ACA) of reckless tactics.
Peever also claimed he was the victim of "personality focused myth-making" and that CA's board had been insulted and disrespected.
CA is pushing to scrap the revenue-sharing model that has shaped the salaries of players for 20 years since the first Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).
The stance has caused much friction between administrators and players. Some 230 players became unemployed on June 30 when the previous MoU expired.
Peever provided the latest flashpoint on Thursday, claiming CA has made a "very generous offer".
"The ACA has responded by not only rejecting that proposal (and recent concessions) out of hand," Peever wrote in The Australian.
"But by launching a campaign of such sustained ferocity that anyone could be forgiven for thinking CA was proposing the reintroduction of slavery rather than healthy pay rises."
It's understood CA chief executive James Sutherland and ACA counterpart Alistair Nicholson spoke on Thursday. The union was obviously unimpressed with Peever's outburst but wanted to push on with negotiations.
Both parties acknowledge some progress this week. Another meeting is expected on Friday but Peever has laid bare the immense divide that remains.
"The timing of Mr Peever's letter is disappointing because it does nothing to further any progress that we are trying to make," an ACA spokesperson said.
"It is almost two weeks after CA have forced the players into unemployment and is refusing to backpay them, despite the players training for free.
"The ACA don't apologise for holding CA to account or for asking the hard questions.
"The imputation that the players and the ACA are sabotaging the game is wrong."
Players were mute on Thursday, even on Twitter, but several were apparently shocked by some of the emotive language used by the former Rio Tinto managing director.
CA insists Peever had simply wanted to make it clear he respects the role of unions and is not pushing for change because of an "extreme industrial relations agenda, supposedly imported from the mining industry".
Test greats Adam Gilchrist and Jason Gillespie desperately called for the saga to end.
"This entire situation is both a joke and so sad. Work it out. There is so much to go around," Gilchrist posted on Twitter.
Gillespie expressed dismay at the "tit for tat in the media between the ACA and CA".
"Find a compromise and let's get on with the cricket. It's not a great look for our game," Gillespie wrote in a column on The Roar.
This month's Australia A tour to South Africa was cancelled because of the impasse. The Test tour of Bangladesh is also in danger, with Steve Smith's side due to depart on August 18.
Source: AAP
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