The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) today scored a rare but significant victory over the West Indies Players Association (WIPA).
In a ruling in the High Court of Trinidad and Tobago, Judge Ricky Rahim discharged a WIPA injunction, dismissed its claim and ordered the body to pay the WICB costs in the amount of 000 (about BDS$300 000).
The matter concerned the interpretation of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) which governed the relationship between the two bodies.On March 30, 2011, the WICB wrote to WIPA giving notice of revision of the CBA/MOU by June 30, 2011.
WICB also notified WIPA of termination of the CBA/MOU effective September 30, 2011 should there be no revision. It is this termination which was the subject of dispute.
In a release today, the WICB said WIPA claimed that the WICB had attempted to illegally unilaterally terminate the agreements, which WIPA asserted could only be terminated by mutual consent, revision of the documents or the dispute resolution procedure contained in the agreements.
“WIPA also sought an injunction keeping the agreements in force until the claim could be heard, which was granted on March 1, 2012,” the release added.
“WICB had disagreed with WIPA’s assertion, countering that it was clear that the parties had intended the MOU/CBA to be terminable and that they were terminable upon reasonable notice. “The WICB said it wished to assure that the best interests of the players would remain paramount and intended to engage WIPA to chart the way forward. (HG/PR)
