Players must be given a voice over salary cuts

WHAT has happened regarding the proposed cut to the Premiership salary cap is close to washing your laundry in public, although I would not be surprised if we do not yet know all the facts.

- JEREMY GUSCOTT

It must be a massive embarrassment to Premiership Rugby Ltd (PRL) that the players have come out and said that neither they nor their Rugby Players Association (RPA) representatives have been involved in the discussions that the Premiership club owners have had about the salary cap, which they intend to cut from £6.4m to £5m from 2021-22 to 2023-24.

This comes after Premiership players accepted a 25 per cent reduction in their salaries in March as a short-term measure – but now, following the reduction of the salary cap from 2021-22, it seems that the clubs want to make the 25 per cent cut permanent.

The clubs cannot just impose that sort of reduction. The players have to agree on it, because every employee has rights.

It is also embarrassing because PRL moan when they are excluded from serious discussions about the future of the game by World Rugby and the national unions, and yet they appear to have done exactly the same by not consulting the players.

If it’s true, it is just wrong, and it is hard to believe that anyone could be that silly.

I guess the decision for the clubs to reduce the salary cap for the 2021-22 season was always coming given the financial situation after lockdown, and that is why it is common sense for conversations to take place between the players and their club employers.

If I was a player now, my immediate reaction would be that I would not want to take a pay cut, although some people might take it. However, if it was explained to me that it meant greater long-term job security and that I could return to my previous salary level at the end of 18 months, then I would look at it.