Tim May: Cricket Australia don’t want to get back to the negotiating table

Former FICA and ACA boss Tim May feels that Cricket Australia (CA) has a heavy battle at hand.

With Cricket Australia (CA) already involved in a fierce battle with the Australian Cricketers’ Association (ACA) over their play deal and the revenue-sharing model, former union boss Tim May feels that the national body has a heavy battle at hand. May played a key role in designing the model, which made few of the Australian cricketers among the highest paid players in the world. Meanwhile, CA feels the revenue-sharing model is obsolete. The new model would give the international cricketers to share the excess revenues they earn, while the domestic cricketers will just have their fixed amount of share. The new model also promises high rise in pay-scale over the next five years. David Warner: Australia might not have a team for Ashes 2017-18

“With six weeks to go before June 30, I think it’s inflammatory — and makes the players bind together more — for the CEO to come out and say ‘these are the terms that we are offering … either accept or be unemployed. An ultimatum like that would suggest that CA don’t want to get back to the negotiating table and negotiate this stuff. I find that puzzling. I think the cricketing community would be questioning their desire to get a deal done,” said May in an exclusive interview with Reuters. AUS players’ union threaten to boycott BAN tour, Ashes over CA pay dispute

“It may be that they could pay the players a percentage point less or exclude some revenue flows, and they can still do that and have the benefits of ‘variable-rising’ expenses. The ACA probably aren’t moving because they don’t understand the rationale of what CA are trying to put before them. I don’t think it’s easy for anyone to understand what CA are talking about unless they disclose various figures and projections,” he added. Sutherland warns AUS players to accept new CA terms or to forget payments

“If I was running a sport, I would want my players to be the best paid in Australia — because we’re all competing for the same athletes. The person on the street may say, ‘Well, they’re earning enough.’ But it’s about a bigger principle, and the principle is about [players] being an important stakeholder in this game. If the worth of what they are doing is increasing, why shouldn’t they share in that?” he concluded.

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