A-League players have rejected a proposed new collective bargaining agreement offered by the competition’s clubs.
The clubs are aiming to secure a significantly reduced pay deal amid the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic – which has seen a renegotiated Fox Sports broadcast agreement and a loss of league and club revenues.
But the clubs’ offer, put to the players in a league-wide vote by their union, was rejected on Tuesday.
The Professional Footballers Australia said the clubs’ proposal would allow them to “unilaterally impose salary reductions on players, with the players’ only recourse to reject such a reduction being to terminate their employment” and would prevent players negotiating any reductions “in a fair and adequate manner.”
PFA co-chief executive Beau Busch said the union had tabled two alternative proposals to the clubs’ offer.
“At a time when the preservation of the A-League has required unprecedented sacrifices on the part of the players, they have been forced to defend their most basic contractual rights,” Busch said.
“Our professional game finds itself at a critical juncture and our capacity to rebuild will largely be shaped by the quality of play on the pitch.
“Ensuring contract security and the attractiveness of the players’ work environment is critical; failing to do so will simply undermine any recovery efforts.”
The FFA is not directly involved in the negotiations and instead considers itself a “regulator”, but it has warned it will intervene if the two parties can’t reach an agreement.
PFA president and Sydney FC captain Alex Wilkinson said the players were willing to continue working with the clubs to secure a new CBA.
The players had been expected to return to training later this month or in early October, with Melbourne City previously flagging an October 5 return date.
OzNix
Roar Rookie
Wellington Phoenix has enough players in the ISL to warrant us switching from the A-League…. Hooper, Taylor, Singh, Williams, Tratt, Andrija Kaluđerović, Mandi and Vidosic just to name a few.
Waz
Roar Rookie
“FFA to accelerate A League independence but model yet to be decided”: https://www.theage.com.au/sport/soccer/ffa-to-accelerate-a-league-independence-but-model-yet-to-be-finalised-20200918-p55x30.html So it’s not here yet
Waz
Roar Rookie
No. Legalities. Totally different to potatoes. You wouldn’t sink money in to renovating a house until it was legally yours and any investment you made was secure. The question really is - why is it taking the FFA so long to grant independence?
Sam
Guest
Semantics..........they got / they're getting it......potatoes - potartoes
Waz
Roar Rookie
Well, the owners haven’t got independence yet - at the FFAs own words “it’s at least 2 months away”
NoMates
Guest
Fk em! Honestly %90 percent of players in the A-League are crap and deff not worth the money being spent on them. If there not happy go play in India or Thailand. I wanna see players play because they enjoy it not because of money they think there entitled to.
sam
Guest
Footballers, all around the world have had an expectation that earning big money was a given and easy to achieve.....and it was. It's all changed now and more so in Australia, the gap of earning capacity here will widen significantly. It can be assumed an exodus of Australian talent to over seas clubs will increase in the foreseeable future. Not a good outcome in many ways. The private owners have made their call, they got what they wanted, independence. Now they have to deal with the fallout of the COVID pandemic. Unforeseen but terrible timing.
Harry Selassie
Roar Rookie
This is precisely the issue and as Roberto says there is no easy resolution of this. It will require some intervention by the FFA and at the end of the day likely neither the clubs nor players will be happy (which in negotiation parlance often means a reasonable deal has been struck.) But it is troubling as a fan to see so many players leaving but who can blame them for seeking the best financial deal possible?
Tigertown
Guest
If they don’t want to play in the A-League, then the NPL will take them. Or Coles. “Down, down, Coles prices are down.”
pete4
Guest
Not sure only 3-4 players going to India at this point. Wages on offer must be worth going? Don't let any cricket fans on here see that :laughing:
OzNix
Roar Rookie
The fact that many of the decent players in the A League are choosing to go and play in a third-world Country with 4.93 million cases of COVID 19 says everything that needs to be said. Players are voting on the future of the A-League with their feet (and travel plans!).
Roberto Bettega
Roar Rookie
A complication, I believe, is that half of the players are off contract, and the other half still have a year or so left. So we could end up with a situation where those off contract get a new contract worth half of what they were getting most recently, and worth half of what some other players are getting because they still have a year to run. No easy solutions.
Robin
Guest
Another example of how Australian football continues to shoot itself in the foot Players are worth what the clubs can afford Reduced income from TV rights and lack of spectators = reduced expenditure on players Our code does not have a money tree Football is the same as life You live within your means