The Independent Voice of West Indies Cricket

Wes Hall: MOU, CBA working perfectly

Sat, Oct 6, '12

 

Wes Hall Former West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) president, Sir Wes Hall, believes the current MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) and CBA (Central Bargaining Agreement) are serving their purposes perfectly despite claims to the contrary by a former member of the WICB.

Sir Hall also explained that when he signed both agreements he wanted both to be airtight so no party could end it unilaterally.



The ex-West Indies pacer, was speaking at a recent function hosted by the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board (TTCB) at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Port of Spain. 

He noted that with the turmoil of a players strike taking place during his tenure in 2003 as well as the knowledge of the challenges cricketers face, he was adamant that retainer contracts needed to be introduced alongside an MOU and CBA. 

“I had 30 years in industrial relations experience and human resource management. I was a graduate of the Industrial Society of London so I was not a neophyte in these matters,” he declared. 

The cricket administrator explained that he always had West Indies cricket at heart and wished to do the best thing for the game in the region. 

After the first set of negotiations had broken down with former WIPA president, Dinanath Ramnarine, Sir Hall later approached the WIPA boss to try a different method. 

“I told Ramnarine and his team, ‘Look, I am not negotiating with the West Indies players again and neither should you, Ramnarine. 

What you need to do, I am going to get an expert in industrial relations to deal on our behalf, you get an expert to deal on your behalf and I think that once you negotiate in good faith, there will be no problems at all’...Ladies and gentlemen, I just wish to say that to you so that I will let you know that I did not for any moment wish West Indies cricket at any time to be in disarray. 

I did not want a situation that either the West Indies Cricket Board president or WIPA president could unilaterally terminate the agreement. I wanted the negotiations between the two to be conducted by a skilled industrial relations expert and not by managers or directors who did not have a sense of how vital it was to have a personal relationship between the West Indies Cricket Board and WIPA.” 

Sir Hall revealed that he is shocked that the CBA and MOU are now being viewed so disparagingly as he feels it is serving its purpose perfectly. 

“I just wanted everyone in Trinidad and Tobago to understand that if you — in fact, you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to know that if you have a retainer contract for the players, if you have a Memorandum of Under-standing and a CBA, that is negotiated, signed off, then there should be no problem. So I am at loss to know why there is such confusion in West Indian circles about this, when we are the only cricket nation in the world having problems,” he declared. 

The ex-WI player urged TTCB president, Azim Bassarath to intervene in the matter as he believes West Indies cricket is suffering as a result. 

“President (Bassarath), I beg you to use your influence to make sure that this situation comes to an end very soon because...I’m worried about it. I am worried about our reputation worldwide. West Indies cricket is so vital to world cricket that there are people all over the world who know that world cricket is not the same unless we have a strong West Indian team,” he remarked.

 

* Republished from Trinidad Newsday.