NEWS
Follow UsCricket West Indies (CWI) and the West Indies Players' Association (WIPA) have signed a “groundbreaking” four-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to solidify their commitment to promoting gender pay equity within West Indies cricket.
“The MoU outlines plans to achieve parity in international and regional match fees, international captain’s allowances, international team prize money and regional individual prize money for all West Indies cricketers by 1 October 2027,” stated the release.
The MoU is for the period 1 October 2023 to 30 September 2027 and captures all agreements regarding player remuneration, and updated terms and conditions across the West Indies system.
Some important provisions agreed upon in the new MoU are as follows:
1 - Significantly increased team prize money throughout the system and new individual player rewards
2 - Full match fees for players in the starting XI and 80% for reserves (effective 1 October 2024)
3 - All retainers on hold once a NOC is issued for an overseas domestic franchise tournament (effective 1 October 2024)
4 - The potential for CWI and Franchises to award multi-year retainer contracts (up to 3-years)
5 - Increased international and regional match fees and ICC Tournament fees for all women’s cricketers, to achieve parity by 1 October 2027
6 - Increases for international and regional men’s match fees (effective 1 October 2023)
7 - Align international women’s contracts and regional men’s contracts with the performance grading that has been established for international men
8 - Provision of a hospitality box and ground transportation for players’ families at all international home series matches
"This is a historic day for West Indies cricket. As we overhaul the compensation structures and align performance grading, we are taking a significant step towards creating a more inclusive and progressive cricket framework. This step reflects our unwavering commitment to gender equality and acknowledges the immense contributions of female players to West Indies cricket,” Dr Kishore Shallow, president of CWI, said.
"In the preceding year, we undertook substantial enhancements to our travel policy, mandating that the West Indies Senior Women's team travel business-class on all extended international flights and are accommodated in single rooms during international assignments. This aligns seamlessly with the established policy for West Indies Senior Men's tours. Today, with the signing of this MOU, we take another significant stride in narrowing the gender gap within our cricketing community."
The MOU also introduces opportunities for compensation enhancement for both international and regional men, signifying a commitment by CWI to acknowledge and reward excellence. In addition to unprecedented levels of prize money on offer for regional tournaments, there are new team and individual incentive bonuses available for the top performers in the system. The top contract band values for men at international and regional level have also been increased, underscoring the commitment to fostering a culture of player growth, improvement and high performance.
"Achieving gender parity and equity has always been a strategic objective of our players' union, and we've certainly done so with our female members. Without a doubt, this is a truly historic and exciting time for our membership as the MOU addresses most levels of our pay scale. As we operate within a very fluid cricketing landscape, we are duty bound to conscientiously reward our regional and international players within the constraints of CWI's budget and agree on policies that will produce and promote world class performances,” Wavell Hinds, president and CEO of WIPA, said.
