New Zealand's top rugby players reach agreement on pay cuts
Apr 16, 2020
New Zealand’s top rugby players have agreed to a 50% pay reduction as New Zealand Rugby contends with the financial fallout from the coronavirus pandemic
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — New Zealand’s top rugby players have agreed to a 50% pay reduction as New Zealand Rugby contends with the financial fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.
NZR and the New Zealand Rugby Players’ Association announced the agreement Thursday after protracted negotiations.
Under the deal, 50% of the payments anticipated this year to the All Blacks, members of the New Zealand women’s and sevens teams, and Super Rugby players will be withheld. The amount is worth about $15 million (NZ$25 million).
Some of that money will be released if play resumes this year in some form. If there is no further rugby in 2020 payments will be waived.
The agreement applies to base salaries and some allowances and financial benefits.
“In contemplating a scenario based on no professional rugby in 2020, NZR and the NZRPA together recognized the need to act now to prepare the game and the players for this, even if there is every intention of doing all we can to avoid it,” NZRPA head Rob Nichol said.
The NZRPA said it sought an agreement that spread the financial burden fairly among all players. It said it wanted to protect those on retainers of $50,000 or less.
New Zealand Rugby previously had cut salaries to administrative staff and All Blacks coaches and management to leaven the blow from the current shutdown of professional rugby, including Super Rugby and test matches.
___
More AP sports: https://apnews.com/apf-sports and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
More News
Wall Street’s wild Nvidia ride delivers big paydays and even bigger bruises
Investors are doubling down on speculative wagers that have delivered both spectacular gains and crushing losses this year.
Inside Boeing’s mission to rebuild trust in the 737 after years of turbulence
In the airline industry, attention to detail is everything. Boeing’s recovery is tied to reforms on its manufacturing floor in Washington.
Commercial childcare is hitting a brick wall. Who will pick up the pieces?
Australia’s largest childcare provider has signalled its intent to surrender to a lowball private equity bid as other for-profit providers collapse in record numbers.
‘I don’t care’: Inside Jensen Huang’s last hours as Nvidia CEO
At the end, Jensen Huang looked broken and shattered, his legendary energy depleted.
I worked part-time at David Jones. I know exactly why the business failed
Lift operators, bra fitters and lying sales assistants – I mourn you all.
How Elon Musk drove the Cybertruck and Tesla’s ambitions off a cliff
Elon Musk’s passion project crashed and burned. Its demise carries a lot of weight,
M.J. Bale axed its retail boss while she was on maternity leave. Now she’s fighting back
The Australian menswear retailer made its high-flying retail boss redundant days before her scheduled return from parental leave.
‘Either brave or mad’: A bastion of fine dining gets a sorely needed facelift
Rob and Tammy Charter had other ideas about how they wanted to spend post-work life. Like buying a heritage pub.
This Qantas jet was hit by lightning. It’s still grounded two weeks later
Pictures show the damage left by a lightning bolt, with charred areas of the skin and mesh exposed, on a plane that arrived in Melbourne from Los Angeles last month.
There has never been another scandal like this
Here’s a look at some of the most famous corporate scandals in history. Jensen Huang is really in a league of his own.
Hall of shame: Jensen Huang joins the list of CEOs brought down by affairs
The “close personal relationship” has been the downfall of a number of chief executives over the years.
Australian shares limp across the line to end week higher
The sharemarket has risen for six of the past seven weeks despite a weak finish in the final session.