Lawyers representing disgruntled AFLW players are urging their clients to reject a new collective bargaining agreement to be put forward by the AFL Players’ Association and the AFL.
The protracted and at times acrimonious negotiations on a new deal were further muddied this week when a group of players concerned at a lack of consultation by the AFLPA engaged workers’ rights firm Maurice Blackburn Lawyers.
It follows women’s football trailblazer Susan Alberti’s call for AFLW players to break away from the AFLPA and form their own union.
A vote on a new CBA covering player conditions and the length of seasons over the next three years is expected to be voted on as soon as Friday.
“If I were a player I’d be voting no because I wouldn’t want to vote for something I hadn’t seen,” senior associate at Maurice Blackburn, Jacinta Lewin, told AAP.
“I wouldn’t be voting for anything where there hadn’t been really clear and transparent outlines of what I’m actually getting.
“‘What am I getting in my pocket? What does the season look like going forward? Where is the certainty around the game?’
“This is really a classic example of inadequate consultation and not listening to the players’ representatives.”
This year’s expanded 10-team AFLW season was run over seven home-and-away round with a preliminary final weekend followed by the grand final, won by Adelaide.
With Gold Coast, St Kilda, West Coast and Richmond to join the competition in 2020, one of the main sticking points has been the length of the season and how many weeks players are contracted for.
Lewin declined to reveal how many players she is representing or what legal recourse is open to them should the CBA be passed.
“There are a number of options available to them but at this stage they’re really committed to trying to work with the AFLPA,” she said.
“But it’s just gotten to a stage where they really don’t feel like their voices are being heard.
“Their concerns aren’t being heard and really there’s just been inadequate consultation in regard to the vote that’s been put forward.
“But if it’s a no vote then that’s a very clear message that the AFLPA needs to listen to their players and they will really need to do some soul searching about they are going to better represent the AFLW players going forward.”
The AFLPA did not return calls seeking comment.