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GUYANA CHRONICLE Saturday OCTOBER 11, 2014
Hinds says he will not resign as WIPA president 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, WIPA’s chief executive, also 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,” 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 2, 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
Wavell Hinds 3% of all players earnings, a sum of US$500 000 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, who is 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 characterised 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.”
Windies pay dispute no threat to series, says BCCI NEW DELHI, India (CMC) - The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) says there is “no threat” to India’s ongoing home series against West Indies despite a bitter pay dispute between the visiting cricketers and the West Indies Players Association (WIPA). BCCI secretary Sanjay Patel says matches will be played as scheduled after West Indies cricketers threatened strike action hours away from the first of the five One Day Internationals (ODIs) against India last Wednesday. “I want to clarify that there is no threat to the India versus West Indies series. The matches will go on as per schedule,” said BCCI secretary Sanjay Patel. “In fact, I have spoken to a few officials from the WICB and have got assurance that there will be no disruption.” The players have protested the new terms of WIPA’s CBA/MOU deal with the WICB, arguing 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. “I got an e-mail from WICB chairman Dave Cameron, who thanked BCCI for playing a proactive role,” said Patel. “Look, our job was to ensure that the series is run smoothly. This series of 3 Tests, 5 ODIs and a T20 International was chalked during the FTP calendar of 2007-08”. WIPA’s president Wavell Hinds has dismissed the players’ 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. Patel has given the assurance that the BCCI will be happy to help the WICB mediate their dispute with WIPA once the series ends. “Futures Tour Programme (FTP) is sacrosanct and all the member nations must abide by it. You cannot disrespect what was decided in FTP calendar,” he said. “I told them that there isn’t a problem that can’t be sorted out across the table. If WICB wants, we can mediate once the series ends. These players are good boys and they know their duty.”
Windies staying focused ahead of World Cup, states Bravo DELHI, India (CMC) – West Indies captain Dwayne Bravo is refusing to look too far ahead despite his side’s impressive win over India in the first One-Day International of the five-match series last Wednesday. The Caribbean side shook off an on-going contracts dispute with their players union, WIPA, to slam the reigning World champions by 124 runs in a clinical performance at the Nehru Stadium in Kochi. And even though the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand is only months away next year, Bravo backed away from any predictions, preferring instead to focus on winning the current series. “World Cup is still a long way to go. Playing against one of the better teams in the world gives us an opportunity to see where we are as a team,” Bravo told reporters here yesterday. “At the moment, we are here in India and the focus is on this tour. We want to see how we play in the next four games and how we can do as an ODI team. We can’t think about what happens four months hence. “Before that we have a tour of South Africa coming up, and that will be tough as well. So we need to just focus on the present.”
West Indies middle order batsman Marlon Samuels takes strike during training at the Feroz Shah Kotla yesterday. (Photo courtesy West Indies media)
He continued: “At the moment we are here in India so that is where our focus is. We can’t (begin) to think too far ahead of ourselves or we can’t study Australia as we have the South Africa tour before.” Bravo said though conditions in Australia would differ from those on the subcontinent, he pointed out that most members of the West Indies side were well travelled and were already accustomed to playing in different environments. The World Cup runs from February 14 to March 29 in seven venues across Australia and seven in New Zealand. “The players have already played in Australia, they have played in India and they have played in South Africa. That’s the good thing about international cricket (it’s about) being able to adjust and adapt to different conditions,” Bravo pointed out. West Indies head to South Africa following India for three Tests, three Twenty20s and then five ODIs which conclude January 28. They will contest Pool B of the World Cup against India, Pakistan, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Ireland and qualifiers United Arab Emirates.