Diamonds shooter Sophie Garbin believes the latest pay offer by Netball Australia is likely to be declined by the Australian Netball Players Association, labelling it “a little bit of a PR stunt” from the sport’s governing body.
Netball Australia and the Players Association have been locked in a bitter pay dispute for much of the year.
The Players Association met with the governing body on Wednesday to discuss a proposed 11 per cent pay rise, which would be backdated to October 1 – the day after the previous collective player agreement (CPA) expired on September 30.
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The expiry of the agreement has meant players are out of contract, have little job security and have not been paid in the eight weeks since.
Netball Australia made the offer public in a statement on Wednesday afternoon. It stated this offer was focused on getting the players paid, while negotiations on other “outstanding matters” would continue.
In the statement, Netball Australia chief executive Kelly Ryan said the body had “listened to the players and their need for financial certainty right now”.
“This offer we have put forward would allow them to be paid immediately, while we continue negotiations with ANPA on building a financial model for the league,” she said.
“We hope this will provide all parties the certainty and stability they seek.”
Should the deal be agreed, the contract period for all players in the Super Netball will begin.
However, Garbin, an ANPA board member, slammed the offer, labelling it a “PR stunt”.
“Essentially it’s what they’ve been offering the whole time, and I think it’s a little bit of a PR stunt to be fair,” she told Wide World of Sports.
“They’ve just come out and said they’re going to pay us, (but) it’s still not a partnership, it’s still not what we’ve been trying to achieve and asked for.
“But I think for them, at the moment from what I’ve seen,they’ve been painted in quite a negative light, which they won’t be happy with.”
Garbin said the Australian Cricketers Association had come on board to assist some players financially, while others – including herself – had been forced to turn to family.
The Australian women’s cricketers went through a similar process in 2017.
“As a 26-year-old, it’s difficult to ask your parents for a little bit of money,” she said.
She said many of her peers were feeling the same level of stress.
“When you set yourself up well financially, you don’t really expect to not get paid for nine weeks,” she said.
According to Garbin, the Players Association has requested a meeting to discuss the new deal with Netball Australia on Friday.