Australia's women's football team "withdrew from a training camp on Tuesday" and threatened to boycott two sell-out games against the U.S. after claiming to have been "disrespected" by Football Federation Australia during negotiations on a collective bargaining agreement, according to Dominic Bossi of the SYDNEY MORNING HERALD. What was meant to be a "straightforward meeting over improved pay and work conditions for Australia's elite female footballers ended in what could be a major boycott after the players' demands were rejected" by FFA. The Matildas returned home and will not board a flight for the U.S. on Friday to play the newly crowned world champions unless the FFA improves its offer and is "willing to negotiate improved conditions." FFA issued a statement suggesting negotiations broke down due to "a new list of demands" submitted by the players for "millions of dollars of unfunded commitments." The Matildas said that the list of demands lodged included a pay rise from their contractual base salary of approximately A$21,000 ($14,800) per annum (before match payments), "contract flexibility allowing players to pursue contracts overseas while retaining Matildas deals," improved travel conditions to be on par with the Socceroos and other improved professional conditions. With their previous CBA finishing at the end of June, the players "have missed two pay cycles" and have not been paid in two months. Matildas goalkeeper Lydia Williams said, "I think hurt is the best way to describe it. I think a lot of us felt disrespected today, I don't even think there was any kind of negotiation, I think it was more of a brief meeting and then sent on our way." PFA CEO Adam Vivian said that the players "will not take part" in the two-game series against the U.S., which could be played in front of a combined crowd of 140,000, unless an agreement is reached with FFA. The announcement is "another fracture between the relationship of FFA and PFA" and follows the withdrawal of the Socceroos from a commercial appearance in Perth last week after the annulment of a memorandum of understanding between FFA and the PFA, as well as a "breakdown in CBA negotiations" (SMH, 9/8). In Sydney, Ray Gatt reported FFA CEO David Gallop said in a "stinging statement" that the union had acted "without notice" and "took the action just hours before the latest round of talks for a new whole of game CBA." Williams suggested they were given "scant regard" and that the failure of Gallop to "even put his head into the meeting to say hello" was disappointing. Gallop said that FFA had "entered the talks in good faith with the intention of finalising the CBA, based on assurances from the PFA's leadership that the parties were not far apart." Gallop: "Instead, we were presented with a fresh set of demands that amount to millions of dollars of unfunded commitments. The new demands are simply not affordable and the PFA knows it" (THE AUSTRALIAN, 9/9).
