Well done on the union

My last article was a case of pretty good timing. I pleaded with the players to get their backsides into gear and form a much needed and overdue players union. Well, some 5 days later an announcement was made that all was in place and, importantly, with some quality people at the forefront. Well done guys.

There will always be an element of suspicion between employer and employee but a players union is an essential element in protecting the players rights and therefore ensuring the progression of the game on all fronts. That word communication is a fundamental tool to ensure a healthy relationship abounds.

At this juncture, it is important for the public to understand that the new players union is not just to act for the national players. They will be extremely involved in ensuring the fairest possible situations for the provincial cricketer as well.

A case, which unfortunately attracted a lot of negative publicity for a cricketers’ union, was back in the 1997 –98 season in Australia when the Australian Cricketers’ Association felt strongly about the wages of state cricketers. In essence this stand off, which nearly resulted in a strike by the national team, was all about enabling enough financial security for those who were plying their trade day in day out for their state team and not about national player salaries.

The ACA were unanimous that an annual salary of around Aus $25,000 less tax was insufficient for a full time cricketer. They were right. How could anyone plan for future, maybe with a family, on those terms? After some protracted and hair raising negotiations, eventually a compromise was reached that enabled these players to earn about Aus $80,000 per annum less tax. In fact to ensure this was in place, the national stars took a pay cut themselves!

So where did this extra money come from?

Simple. Cricket at the time was the most successful national sport (and still is by the way), but the players were the lowest paid as a percentage of revenue. So it was a matter of tweaking the percentages and ensuring a fairer slice of the cake went to the performers, therefore breathing life into the nursery of Australian cricket.

In this example, if it wasn’t for this strong body called the Australian Cricketers’ Association who knows how many talented cricketers would not have been financially stable enough to follow their dream.

Isn’t life about dreams?