Players' union sides with New Zealand Cricket
Geoff Young
New Zealand Cricket (NZC) and the New Zealand Cricket Players' Association (NZCPA) have agreed that no breach of bargaining protocol occurred in a lingering dispute between the two parties over player payments.
New Zealand players have gone on strike between October 1 to October 31, forcing the cancellation of an annual pre-season training camp in Lincoln.
The NZCPA had sought mediation over the impasse after NZC chief executive Martin Snedden released his side's documents to the public two weeks ago.
Snedden, however, denied the claim and the two parties have jointly agreed that neither side had breached the protocol.
"In the event any one of them (the two parties) should place information into the public domain, then any other party shall be free to comment publicly on that information," the parties said in a joint statement on Tuesday.
"If one party should present information within the negotiating process, then that information shall remain confidential to the parties and not be referred to the media or elsewhere without the prior consent of the presenting party."
Snedden, however, was unimpressed that a revised NZCPA offer, which had been promised last week, will now not be submitted for NZC's consideration until Sunday.
COUNTER OFFER
"We expected a counter offer that never came," he told reporters on Monday.
"My philosophy is that, when we are deciding to allocate resources, we have to strike a balance in the interests of all players in New Zealand.
"The Players' Association are a little bit different. They expect NZC to look after the international and first-class players first without taking into account the other obligations NZC has.
"We have a long way to go. They have put a fairly positive spin on their response to our offer," he added. "But we haven't received their counter proposal."
The NZCPA initially asked NZC for a 60 percent increase in payments for New Zealand's first-class players but the NZC countered with a proposed hike of just three percent.
New Zealand's first-class season is scheduled to start in mid-November when CPA members will only have two weeks with their respective provinces before India arrive for a tour involving two tests and seven one-day internationals.
Mail Cricket Editor
(C) 2002 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similiar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters and the Reuters Sphere logo are registered trademarks and trademarks of the Reuters group of companies around the world.
