Players pay dispute resolved say WICB, WIPA

The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) and the West Indies Players' Association (WIPA) have said a lingering dispute over the structure of payments to its international players has been resolved following a period of mediation.

The WIPA and WICB said resolution was reached during a formal mediation session that ran for five days in Barbados last month before the start of Australia's short test tour of the Caribbean, reports CMC.

Agreement was reached on the quantity of sponsorship received by the WICB to be passed on to its international players, said a joint statement released late on Monday.

"During May, the WICB and WIPA participated by mutual consent in a formal mediation process over a period of five days to consider the question of what level of sponsorship funds received by the WICB should international players receive and how that amount should be distributed," the joint statement said.

"In addition to resolving this issue, the WICB and WIPA were able to reach a greater and more consistent understanding of the MOU and CBA by clarifying the underlying agreed principles of player payments for a period of four years."

The pay dispute led to the West Indies cricketers cutting short their tour of Indian last October in controversial circumstances and forcing the Indian cricket board to file a compensation claim of nearly $42 million dollars against the WICB.

A clear schedule of payments to players has been drawn-up and minor amendments have been made to the memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), said the joint statement.

The WICB and WIPA have reported that the new arrangements, including the player payment schedule, were also discussed with the West Indies cricketers during a meeting in Barbados before the start of the Australian tour.

"A clear and unambiguous schedule of all types of anticipated player payments during this period has been drawn up and minor amendments to the MOU and CBA (including the standard player contract) to provide for such compensation has been made," the statement explained.

"This solution, including the player payment schedule, was also shared and discussed with the players on the weekend of May 23 and 24 in Barbados, prior to the start of the Australia Tour of the West Indies, so that the risk of any future dispute is minimised to the greatest extent possible".

The outcome was achieved with the assistance of an independent panel that included representatives of the International Cricket Council, the World governing body for the sport, and the Federation of International Cricketers' Associations, the global organization that coordinates the activities of all the players' associations that represent professional cricketers.

"We're all happy to have reached this outcome. It brings greater stability to our relationship with the players and that's something that we all want and we're thrilled that we have been able to achieve it," said Michael Muirhead, chief executive officer of the WICB.

"There was a tremendous amount of respect and a great degree of compromise forged by a desire and a willingness to bring about resolution through mediation. Once both sides understood that we were both looking for the best for West Indies cricket, we got things worked out."

The mediation panel was chaired by Brian Young, a retired senior partner of Pricewaterhouse Coopers Jamaica, who currently serves on the board of directors of a number of Caribbean firms.

The other members of the panel were Iain Higgins, general counsel of the International Cricket Council, appointed by the WICB, and Ian Smith, a sports governance consultant, appointed by WIPA.

"The mediation process went very well," said President and Chief Executive Officer of WIPA Wavell Hinds.

"This represents the best payment scheme for all players in the present reality of West Indies cricket."