Treating the Proteas like this is just not cricket, CSA

For a sports federation that seemingly constantly wants to earn political points, Cricket South Africa (CSA) don’t really subscribe to the tripartite alliance’s social democratic principles when it comes to employee relations.

While the embattled Eskom will probably never shed the jobs it needs to just to pull the country from the brink of economic ruin because of unions’ influence, local cricket’s governing body increasingly wants to run their affairs like ruthless capitalists.

Don’t believe me?

CEO Thabang Moroe, who has a corporate background, said at the end of 2017: “The players are our employees and in the corporate world, when you are an employee, you just get an e-mail saying ‘this is the new direction, this is the way it’s going to go’. A trade union doesn’t have a say of how our company should be run and how we engage with trade unions.”

That sounds wonderful in theory, but Moroe and his staff just don’t seem to understand that professional sport is different.

Cordial employer-employee relations are, of course, of vital importance yet as an administrator, you have to swallow the pill – bitter or not – of accepting that the players are everything.

That’s particularly relevant in CSA’s case. They can spin it however they want, but they’re nothing without the Proteas.

The majority of CSA’s income emanates from broadcasting rights of, you guessed it, the national side.

By continuing to ignore the concerns of the South African Cricketers Association (Saca) about the true financial position of the sport as well as the controversial domestic restructure – a matter now being heard in the South Gauteng High Court – is biting the hand that keeps feeding it.

That situation has now deteriorated into CSA actively trying to chomp it away.

This week, Saca declared a formal dispute because CSA still doesn’t want to pay the agreed R2.4 million for use of player image rights in last year’s Mzansi Super League.

Such actions are appallingly risky for an organisation already experiencing major strife.

Heinz Schenk.

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