Professional Footballers Australia says it won’t be rushed into signing a new collective bargaining agreement by Football Federation Australia chief executive David Gallop.
Speaking at the launch of the new A-League season in Sydney, Gallop said he was “frustrated” at how long it is taking the players’ union to ratify a few four-year, whole-of-game pay deal which is currently on the table.
An agreement is unlikely to be reached before Thursday’s A-League season opener but is still thought to be a foregone conclusion, with significant progress having been made over the last few weeks.
But PFA boss Adam Vivian has called for patience, revealing more talks will unfold later this week focusing on contract security and safety for players at financially unstable A-League clubs.
It is an area of particular concern for PFA given the financial turmoil plaguing Brisbane Roar and the collapse of the Newcastle Jets under former owner Nathan Tinkler.
“The PFA has been working for 14 months with FFA to reach an agreement for a whole of game CBA,” Vivian said in a statement.
“It required players taking serious industrial action, and the Matildas being forced to cancel a tour, for FFA to move.
“The PFA is the representative of the players. Once both parties positions have been finalised, and the players have been adequately consulted, provided feedback and made a decision we will be in a position to sign the agreement.
“We call on all parties to remain patient as we work towards this historic agreement that will impact on all our members careers.”
In a further sign that relations between FFA and PFA remain as frosty as ever, a terse Gallop also fired back at the union for not knowing their “role” in the game.
The PFA issued a press release on Tuesday morning which urged for more to be done to ensure the continued development of the A-League.
Gallop said: “I don’t think they were useful comments today.”
“We’re perfectly aware of what needs to happen to develop the sport.
“The PFA have got a role. Right now their role is to get the deal done.
“It really is time for them to focus on their job and let us focus on ours.”
Gallop denied he ever held fears the lengthy CBA negotiations could cause a delay to the beginning of the A-League season.
“The fans would expect that the games would go ahead in any circumstances and the PFA recognise that as well,” he said.
Paul
Guest
On 1. the club owners just seem to be greedy then when the players are the ones doing the job on the pitch! on 2. you are supporting the crappy FFA who are distinctly overpaid as administrators but seem to think they own the league. Football belongs to us and we support our players. on 3. how could you forgot that the, then, new owners of the Western Sydney Wanderers wouldn't split the prize money for the World Club Cup. Splitting the prize money for ANY tournament needs to be split 50:50 with the players. on 4. the WS Wanderers froze out Mullen, Saba, Adeleke and 2 others before the transfer window. this cannot be allowed to happen and freezing out is supposed to be specifically outlawed in holland. on 5. auditing should have stopped the problems at Newcastle and Brisbane. also I can't see how Melbourne Victory were not and are not over the salary cap despite Thompson's pay cut. on juniors, the FFA should have their requirements as should the state bodies.
Brendo
Guest
Paul You post here demonstrates how poorly the football public understand the issues. lets go through your points 1 by 1 1. Salary cap floor drop by 4% immediately FFA would be quite happy to accomodate this but the PFA would have a fit if they did. In fact the FFA raise the floor by 5% this year. Why? Because they also built in 5-7% pay increases for the Total Player Payments (TPP). If the FFA hadn't raised the floor some clubs that pay the minimum could have avoided paying extra. Raising the Salary Cap floor is a good thing for the players, not so much the clubs. 2. Accept that players have had an effective pay freeze and force modest increases on club owners maybe an increase of 1% each year till the new broadcast deal. Wrong!! As I indicated above the FFA through raising the Cap Floor and introducing the other optional measures have provided a a 5-7% increase in overall player payments this season. They have also offered a further 30% increase of any media rights increases in the next pay deal. 3. Ensure that the CBA splits any tournament wins in terms of prize money is 50% eg Asian Champions League, World Club Cup, FIFA confederations cup etc and prize money is paid within 20 business days of receipt by the FFA. I must admit I am not sure about where this one has come from nor have I have I heard what the stance on this from FFA or PFA is. 4. Have standardised contracts The players already have standard contracts. The real question is the protection they have in those contracts when club fail to honor the agreement. I think we all agree that the FFA could tighten up in this area. 5. Audit the club. They already do but by definition a audit occurs after the fact. It catches incorrect practices. How do you think Perth was caught out, it was via a audit. As long as we have a Salarly Cap, auditing will be the standard way to enforce it. Now I leave the best to last As Phil has said above placing the blame for high fess on the FFA Fee is simply wrong. That is not to say they carry a significant portion of accountability for high fees but it has nothing to do with the fees they charge. High fees at Junior club is 90% driven by two areas 1. Cultural within our sport that parents don't make good coaches and that young Johnny needs a professional coach. The large portion of your fees is going to the Coach. It is common practice to Pay U12 coaches $4-8K in NPL clubs, $500-$700 per player is going to coaches. This will only change if we change the mentality around the parent coach. 2. The issue is a lot of clubs use the juniors to fund the senior club. This happens in a lot of sports but in football is is very common.
Philip Coates
Roar Guru
Your list of things is not what the PFA want so they wouldn't negotiate with you either. Seriously Paul, I was going to respond to all this and then i saw the old furfy at the end about FFA reducing fees on grassroots children. If you've been conned by those who blame the FFA for registration fees then you do not have much hope of understanding a complex CBA negotiation. The FFA registration fee in NSW for U/9's is only $12.60 per annum. There are plenty of articles on-line and fee schedules that will tell you this. The fees each player pays then also includes NSW rego, what the club charges their players, in what association you play in, and how much the local council charges to use the grounds, is it an elite program or just basic, etc etc. Don't blame the FFA for your child's registration fee - talk to your club about where the money goes. I also have to say that this "player pay freeze" really shirts me. Even if the clubs have a frozen total player spend (which they don't) but lets say they do, every year the club roster changes.... some players leave, new players come, junior players are promoted to the senior list, some players stay, some players take pay cuts to stay on leaving more money for other players (eg Archie Thompson - from what I have been told he has dropped salary 2 years in a row to stay on with MVFC) ... The result of player movements is that ANY individual player CAN ACHIEVE A PAY RISE if they negotiate one and there is always the opportunity to negotiate an increase if you deserve it eg Ben Khalfallah got a significant pay rise. No individual player has had a pay freeze even if the salary cap is frozen. The PFA are lying when they say the "players" have had a salary freeze as if they are arguing on behalf of an individual. Finally, IF, IF my employer froze my individual salary and I wasn't happy with it and I had the whole world were I could be employed I would find someone who rated my work at a higher value and go there. Unlike the AFL that ties players to clubs under the draft rules, there is no restriction on trade and players are free to negotiate and move around at their leisure. Pretty bloody simple.
Paul
Guest
the FFA need to negotiate, they are custodians not the management. without the players there would be no a-league, socceroos, Matilda's etc. theFFA need to negotiate in the following areas: 1) salary cap floor drop by 4% immediately 2) accept that players have had an effective pay freeze and force modest increases on club owners maybe an increase of 1% each year till the new broadcast deal 3) ensure that the CBA splits any tournament wins in terms of prize money is 50% eg Asian Champions League, World Club Cup, FIFA confederations cup etc and prize money is paid within 20 business days of receipt by the FFA. 4) have standardised contracts to stop players being frozen out when there is a falling out with the head coach as is the case with Dutch contracts 5) commit with the CBA to increase the accountability of clubs to the salary cap and other constraints by rolling audits of all clubs over a 5 year period to stop another Perth Glory. there are always rumours of clubs breaching the salary cap so the FFA needs to proactive in this area. perhaps always audit the team that won the a- league and one other club from a different city! I support the players, not overpaid the overpaid FFA board and executives. They need to change their attitude as they do not own the game. it belongs to the players and fans. in addition, it is time for the FFA to reduce the fees taken from the grassroots if we want more children to play football as it is far cheaper to play rugby league and AFL in NSW. let the PFA take as long as it needs.
Philip Coates
Roar Guru
It’s time for the PFA to pull their heads in (or maybe just Adam Vivian needs to pull his head in) and rethink the negative impact they are having on football, it’s public image and it’s financial stability. I just want to make two points. It’s quoted here that “The PFA has been working for 14 months with FFA to reach an agreement for a whole of game CBA,” Vivian said in a statement. It then says that the PFA boss Adam Vivian has called for patience, revealing more talks will unfold later this week focusing on contract security and safety for players at financially unstable A-League clubs. More talks! Did the PFA not know 14 months ago that there was an issue at some unstable A-league clubs?? What the hell have they been doing for 14 months? Vivian was quoted yesterday as saying, “We need a strong financial foundation off the back of a strong TV agreement…” I only have one question regarding this. Has the PFA’s recent activities worked toward supporting a strong TV agreement, by providing a united front of players and administrators willing to work together even under adverse conditions, or has it weakened footballs bargaining power, showing the FFA under siege from its own players, including placing a spotlight on the possible greed of some players (eg the national team who are one of the best paid national teams in the world despite no major sponsors.)? The PFA have a role to play in some of the issues faced in the competitive Australian sports market and there are better ways to address the issues than what we have seen from the PFA over recent months. My message to the PFA and Vivian in particular; 1) Sign the contract now. 2) Let us and the media focus on football. 3) Go back into your board room and rethink what could be done better for the next contract and start work on it immediately behind the scenes working with the FFA and the A-League owners for a better outcome for EVERYONE. That includes us fans who seem to have been forgotten while the PFA/FFA argue about who is up who, and who is not paying!