No end in sight for pay dispute in SNL

MELBOURNE, Australia (CMC):

Netballers from the Caribbean continue to face uncertainty over the immediate future with the pay dispute in the Super Netball League (SNL) showing no signs of a quick resolution.

Jhaniele Fowler and Romelda Aiken-George of the Jamaica Sunshine Girls, and Samantha Wallace of the Trinidad and Tobago Calypso Girls are among players in the League that have not been paid since their current collective bargaining agreement between Netball Australia and the Australian Netball Players Association (ANPA) ran out on September 30 – and they cannot be paid until a new deal is put in place.

Media reports indicated that the dispute is headed to mediation with Netball Australia and ANPA unable to come to an agreement over a revenue share model, and several players have had to turn to family and friends for financial support.

“I’ve heard of players who’ve had to move home because they can’t sign rental agreements or are struggling to pay their mortgages because there is a big stand-off between what Netball Australia want to put forward and what the players and players’ association want,” former Australia netballer Bianca Chatfield said in a TV interview.

The feud erupted after the ANPA rejected the latest offer from Netball Australia and the eight SNL clubs, which put forward a “profit share partnership”, while the players are demanding a “revenue share partnership model”.

Netball Australia said it offered a base wage increase of nine per cent over three years and a maximum salary cap increase of three per cent over the same term, as well as a share in the profits generated by the League for the first time.

Officials from Netball Australia and the clubs expressed disappointment at the rejection of the offer, which they have described as “a groundbreaking collective player agreement”.

Netball Australia said any further increases to player wages beyond the current offer would be irresponsible because they would negatively impact funding for community and grassroots netball.

APPEALING FOR MEDIATION

ANPA said the players believe they have bent over backwards in a bid to reach an agreement, and they are now appealing for mediation to achieve “meaningful and fair progress”.

Australia international defender Maddy Turner said it was a “super stressful” time for all players left in limbo ahead of next season, and she also showed some compassion for non-Australian players.

“When you are relying on that money to pay for rent, groceries, everything … imagine your next pay cheque doesn’t come in,” she said in a TV interview. “You’re looking for other ways to earn money. I think it’s really disappointing. There’s no pay coming in.”

Turner said she had turned to the “bank of Mum and Dad” to pay her mortgage, while picking up extra work where she can – but not every player was that fortunate.

“There are a lot of internationals in our league and without that money coming in, it’s hard for them to come over here where they can’t work a second job,” she said. “I think it’s probably the most frustrating for them.”

Apart from Fowler and Aiken-George, five other Jamaicans – Shamera Sterling, Latanya Wilson, Jodi-Ann Ward, Shimona Nelson, and Kadian Dehaney played in the SNL last season.