PORT-OF-SPAIN – A High Court judge has given the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) six weeks to enter a defence to a motion filed by the West Indies Players Association (WIPA) regarding the issuing of no objection certificates (NOC) to regional players.
Justice David Harris, who heard the matter here earlier this week, also gave the regional cricket administrators 16 days to enter an appearance from the date of being served.
In a 46-page motion filed in the High Court, WIPA contends that the WICB “has engaged in a malicious, wanton and willful campaign to breach the express and implied terms of the collective bargaining agreements” between the two parties “as well as impose unlawful and unreasonable restraints of trade on West Indian cricketers”.
It also alleges that the “WICB has even gone as far as tortiously interfering with the contracts between WIPA and its members in a blatant attempt to obliterate WIPA from the negotiating table.
“So egregious is the WICB’s conduct, that, while the WICB purports to act on the player’s behalf without their authority, and despite the existence of gross conflicts of interests, the WICB profits from the players’ plight by being paid a sum equivalent to ten per cent of the player’s salaries earned by the players participating in overseas matches – all while causing millions of dollars in damages to WIPA and its members,” WIPA said in the court documents.
It said that the WICB had refused to communicate with it “to resolve these issues and instead has forced WIPA to commence this action to prevent the WICB from interfering with a player’s right to ply his trade and from continuing to breach the agreements between the parties.
“Simply put, the WICB cannot justify its intentional and malicious conduct and must be stopped to prevent further damage to WIPA, West Indian cricketers and West Indies cricket on the whole.”
WIPA said it represents at least 300 West Indian cricketers, with no more than 25 players signing retainer contracts with the WICB at any time.
At the centre of the legal challenge are the allegations by WIPA of the refusal by the WICB “to grant an unconditional NOC to players who have no contractual obligations to the WICB or any teams under its jurisdiction”.
