The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) will have to dig deep into its coffers to find US$2 million to pay regional cricketers after losing the latest round of arbitration to the West Indies Players Association (WIPA).
WIPA President Dinanath Ramnarine told a press conference at his Port of Spain, Trinidad office recently that the WICB was found to be in breach of Article VI of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) as it pertains to both the WICB and WIPA deciding on match conditions and the number of matches played by the players.
Senior Counsel Jairam Seenath, who was the arbitrator, ruled that the WICB breached the contract and as a result awarded WIPA US$2 million in cost and penalty.
Consistent with the dispute resolution mechanism outlined by the CBA the parties went to binding arbitration for the 2009/2010 annual schedule of cricket.
The CBA required both parties to discuss and agree to the annual schedule for regional and international matches, the number of games, dates, location/venues, travel and accommodation.
There were some items that no agreement were arrived but the WICB went ahead and this forced WIPA to seek assistance,
Seenath ordered that the sum of US$728,000 – representing loss of earnings by players for the regional four-day tournament be paid to WIPA who will distribute to the players.
The 2009 four-day competition was played on a home and away basis with each team playing 12 matches, but that format was discontinued a year later with each team playing six matches.
The WICB will have to pay 40 percent of the board’s earnings from the additional Twenty20 match in the home series against South Africa in 2010 and a sum equivalent of the usual fees paid to the players in the Caribbean T20.
Seenath also ordered the WICB to give a full account of all the revenue earned, including details of all commercial arrangements for the additional Twenty20 match in the home series against South Africa, as well as the Caribbean Twenty20 in July 2010.
WIPA will also receive US$100,000 for loss of sponsorship opportunity.
The WICB must also pay interest on the sums payable of 12 percent per annum from the date of the award.
