WIPA Sets the Record Straight

The West Indies Players' Association (WIPA) late Wednesday spelled out its objections to the WICB demands in the ongoing contract dispute and said it welcomes the offer by Grenada's Prime Minister Dr Keith Mitchell to mediate a settlement.

In a statement, WIPA said the dispute centres around the WICB's stance that it owns the individual rights of the players in the team and, therefore, is allowed to sell those rights without remuneration.

In some circles the dispute between WIPA, and the WICB is being summarized as a conflict between Player obligations to the Boards sponsors and their personal obligations under their individual contracts. To put this in perspective:

The real issue is that the Board considers that it has sole right to select the West Indies Team (WIPA agrees) and that when a player becomes a member of the Team that the Board then owns the Intellectual Property Rights of that Player (WIPA disagrees) and that the Board therefore is entitled to sell that Player?s rights and convert him into an endorser or salesman of anybody?s product and services without remuneration (WIPA violently disagrees.)

This contractual provision is included in a two month contract for the proposed Australia Tour. It is a new provision which has not previously arisen in the course of the ongoing negotiations between WIPA and the Board and it is in conflict with all the contracts agreed upon between WIPA and the Board over the last twelve (12) months.

This provision is copied (though not word for word) from the Australian Retainer Contract but in that instance it is included by agreement between the Australian Players Association and Cricket Australia and after settling adequate compensation. In our case the Board insists that compensation does not arise because it owns the Players in the Team anyway. And just in case the Board might be wrong it is asking the players to acknowledge that it is right.

The Clause in question reads as follows:

• The Player acknowledges that the WICB has the sole and exclusive right to permit any person to represent that they, or their goods or services, have the sponsorship or approval of, or are in any way endorsed by or associated with the WICB or any WICB Team.

The definition of West Indies Team for these purposes is any group of four (4) players.

WIPA is of the view that the Board may have sold rights which they do not have and which they are now attempting to acquire by requiring the Players, as a condition of being included in a three (3) week training camp (for which incidentally they will not be paid), to acknowledge that the Board has these rights.

The Board goes further to require that if a player wishes to exercise his personal rights he must get the approval of the Board. And even further to insist that in cases where the Board has given any prior approval to any personal endorsement agreements that the Board now has the right to ratify or refuse to ratify those agreements in its absolute and unfettered discretion.

This is the same Board that has not yet paid the Players for work done in the last tour to England and in the ICC Tournament which they won, and will not pay them for a three (3) week training camp to which they have been invited.

Our players are anxious and willing to represent the West Indies and to build on their success in the recent ICC Tournament. In these circumstances it is perverse for the Board to suggest that the Players have made themselves ineligible for selection. On the contrary it is the Board who, by insisting on onerous and unfair Contractual provisions, has created this situation.

We accordingly welcome the statement by the Honourable Dr. Keith Mitchell, Prime Minister of Grenada that he intends to try on behalf of Caricom to effect a settlement of this dispute.