AFLW pay dispute: AFLPA forced to extend deadline as players fail to receive voting link

There were calls for the AFLW pay vote to be replaced after it emerged several players did not receive their ballot, with one lawyer calling the process a “farce”.

Darcy Vescio of the Blues runs with the ball during the Round 6 AFLW match between the Carlton Blue and the Brisbane Lions at Ikon Park in Melbourne, Sunday, March 10, 2019. (AAP Image/Daniel Pockett) NO ARCHIVING, EDITORIAL USE ONLY

The ringleaders behind the AFL Women’s brawl broke their silence as the players’ collective bargaining dispute descended into “farce”.

The AFL Players’ Association was forced to hold Friday’s 5pm voting deadline open into the weekend after it emerged a number of players had not received a voting link.

The union confirmed some links had been sent to junk mail or to out of date contact details.

A lawyer acting on behalf of the group called for the ballot to be replaced.

“This is a farce. A clear, accountable voting mechanism is fundamental to the integrity of the vote result,” Maurice Blackburn senior associate Jacinta Lewin told the Herald Sun.

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“Some players have told us that they have not received voting links. This lack of process and clarity has done nothing but generate more uncertainty for AFLW players.

“The AFLPA needs to act quickly to replace this ballot with one that is legitimate.

“Players cannot contact the AFLPA to sort this out without undermining their confidentiality.

“This is the AFLPA’s issue to address and fix promptly.”

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Players have until 5pm today to cast their votes on the deal

Under the online voting system, the association has no way of knowing whether players had chosen not to vote or had simply not received the link.

It said that to be fair to all players, any AFLW player that had not received the voting link could request it this weekend to have their say.

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Carlton star Darcy Vescio — who was among players who did not receive the link — and All-Australian Geelong defender Meg McDonald confirmed they are among a group who had engaged the law firm in their dispute with the AFLPA and said they are fighting for the rights of all current and future female footballers.

Vescio said the dissatisfaction had stemmed from what the group believed to be an unfair and non-transparent AFLPA process.

Erin Phillips looks to be in support of the deal

“Things aren’t black and white, we’re exploring the grey,” Vescio said.

“We’re just wanting to understand the detail of what we’re signing up to. Getting greater education around our rights has been important.”

The player vote — which is not compulsory — on the three-year agreement was set to close at 5pm on Friday, hours after the group wrote to union boss Paul Marsh demanding an independent review of the CBA poll.

Hours prior to closure, player representatives wrote to Marsh asking scrutineers to finalise and communicate results of the vote immediately, and called upon the association to provide assurances surrounding the confidentiality of the player responses.

Vescio said the fight was about both future and current AFLW players.

“Sustainability isn’t just about the future, we need to ensure the players currently in the system are being valued for their contribution to the game,” she said.

“AFLW has been incredible so far and I’m looking forward to the next few seasons.”

McDonald, 28, rejected claims that the aggrieved players were part of a rogue group.

“A large number of players have raised real concerns about the AFLPA, they understand they don’t have a clear deal on the table,” she said.

“I know that a number of other teams have been encouraged to reject the deal.

Daisy Pearce believes the collective are in favour of the deal

“The respect, inclusion and empowerment of AFLW players is key to the sustained success of the competition. That is what we have continually sought from the AFLPA over the past weeks. Knowledge of our rights, inclusion in a transparent process, clarity of information, and a commitment to improvements going forwards.

“I love AFLW — we all do. I’m excited for AFLW’s future — we all are.”

The deal presented to players this week offered eight rounds plus three weeks of finals in 2020, nine rounds plus finals in 2021 and 10 rounds plus finals in 2022 — up from an initial offer of nine rounds plus finals in the final year of the agreement.

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It needed 75 per cent of players to vote yes to pass, with results expected in coming days as votes from a range of methods — including text messages — are tallied.

The breakaway group of players is calling for clarity on the process and full details surrounding the final deal struck between the AFLPA and the AFL in recent weeks.

They are also demanding to have a seat at the table in negotiations.

Daisy Pearce — a foundation AFLW player and former AFLPA board member — said while the deal was not “absolute utopia”, she considered it to be fair and reasonable.