News

Spears threaten to derail Super 14

Thursday 27th November 2008

Southern Spears: Never made it off the ground

SA Rugby on Wednesday reportedly received a written demand from the legal representative of the former Southern Spears personnel and players for the payment of outstanding dues worth ZAR4m ($406,000).

The Southern Spears, who were awarded the sixth South African Super 14 rugby franchise by SA Rugby in June 2005, are accusing SA Rugby of not complying with the law regarding the basic conditions of employment after the deal went sour.

The Spears, made up of the three rugby unions of the Southern and Eastern Cape Rugby regions, claim SA Rugby owe them unpaid salaries, leave pay, notice pay and outstanding bonuses after the national administrator reneged on the agreement in 2006.

Cape High Court had previously ruled that a collective SA Rugby Franchise Participation Agreement, between SA Rugby and the five other South African franchises (the Bulls, Cheetahs, Sharks, Lions, Stormers and Southern Spears) which commenced the 1st January 2006 and runs through to 31st May 2010, was legal and binding.

SA Rugby's Presidents Council bound themselves in a unanimous Resolution in 2005, to financially support the Southern Spears for the year 2006 only. Thereafter, the Southern Spears were to be included in the Super 14 competition for the years 2007 and 2008.

All 27 Southern Spears players and personnel, including the current Springbok coach Peter de Villiers, received salaries and payslips from SA Rugby until March 2006, thereafter SA Rugby unilaterally terminated payment of salaries to the Spears players and personnel.

"An employer like SA Rugby, who we are instructed, has willfully ignored labour legislation with impunity, are acting unlawfully," said lawyer Jacques Jansen.

"The players and personnel concerned were without question SA Rugby employees, who were paid by SA Rugby, received SA Rugby payslips, IRP5 certificates and consequently became the victims of these unlawful actions, by SA Rugby.

"They and their families have suffered enormous distress and financial hardship as a result of SA Rugby's violation of labour law. Employers simply must employ responsibly and comply with our labour laws, failing which they face dire consequences.

"In the event that SA Rugby fails to resolve this dispute, they face defending some 150 applications that will be brought against SA Rugby. We will not hesitate to assist and represent these employees in the Labour Court in order to bring them some solace after this ordeal"

"Not only has SA Rugby violated their own constitution by failing to bind its members and unions to this unanimous Presidents Council resolution, which in itself is deplorable, SA Rugby has also breached its very own Super 14 franchise participation agreement from 2006-2010 and face the prospect of the 2009 Super 14 competition being stopped by urgent interdict on January 9, unless of course this matter is resolved by the Presidents Council," said Tony McKeever, former CEO of the Southern Spears.

"If they are unable to do that, SA Rugby, in terms of the SANZAR broadcasters agreement will face multiple damages and loss claims from their SANZAR partners, broadcasters and sponsors, that will run into hundreds of millions of Rands and be fatal to the organisation as we know it today.

"It is sheer lunacy that SA Rugby has spent R27.1m to keep the Spears out of the Super 14, which would have been far better allocated to building the game of rugby in South Africa and the Southern Hemisphere, rather than destroying it.

"Six weeks ago I submitted a solution to SA Rugby that remedies this Spears/SA Rugby dispute within days and at no cost to SA Rugby, which is precisely what Regan Hoskins asked of me.".

The SA Rugby Presidents Council meets in Cape Town on Monday December 1 for an extraordinary meeting.