NRL CBA stalemate to drag on after club bosses CANCEL meeting with players over settlement agreement

Frustrated players union boss Clint Newton has slammed the NRL and its clubs for not being proactive in resolving the ongoing pay dispute stalemate as long-running talks reached another deadlock .

Originally scheduled to be completed last November, the Game-Wide Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) is now seven months behind schedule with NSW State of Origin star Cameron Murray calling the situation “exhausting” and ” disappointing” Thursday.

The Rugby League Players Association (RLPA) were confident they had a deal by the end of May when they offered a settlement proposal to the NRL last week.

But there are now concerns that the bid, which covered more than 30 unresolved issues, inadvertently slowed the process.

It is believed that there were several proposals included in the offer that had not been fully discussed before.

The Game-Wide Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) is now seven months behind schedule, with NSW Origin star Cameron Murray (pictured) calling the situation ‘draining’

Although there was no request for additional funding, the offer included proposals for changes to the minimum wage for the next five years, the mode of payment for private health insurance and the transfer system.

The NRL met the clubs on Wednesday morning to discuss the offer and although it will take until at least next week to compile comments to the RLPA, it is already clear that the proposal will be rejected.

Club bosses then pulled out of a meeting with senior players scheduled for Wednesday evening, where Daly Cherry-Evans and Christian Welch had hoped to explain their position.

That has frustrated the players’ union, who are adamant they are trying to push through negotiations and want a resolution after a 12-month extension from the former CBA was agreed last November.

“Slowing things down is the [17 NRL] clubs not attending a meeting with their players on Wednesday evening,’ Newton said.

”[Also] slowing things down is that the NRL is not accepting our offer to present our settlement proposal to their management team in person.

“If these two options were chosen, we would be closer to an agreement or a resolution of the problem.

“But we have not met with either party despite the opportunities offered and it has been left to interpretation to respond to our proposed settlement.

NRL club bosses have pulled out of a meeting with senior players scheduled for Wednesday evening, where the likes of Daly Cherry-Evans (pictured) hoped to explain their position

“It is up to the NRL management to understand the context and details of our proposed settlement before submitting it to the ARL Commission so that they can make an informed decision before accepting or rejecting it.”

The NRL would not comment publicly on the negotiations on Thursday but have long maintained they want to end the talks quickly with a deal that suits both sides.

The head office also insisted that the clubs had not been advised to cancel their meeting with the union and that they themselves were still open to meeting with RLPA officials.

The NRL have also remained adamant that they are ready to compromise with players and have done so in previous deals.

The union also believes it offered a compromise in its settlement offer, including allowing the NRL to build an asset base of $300 million before sharing higher-than-expected revenue with players.

“Both sides have been instructed by the independent negotiator to break the deadlock,” Newton said.

“We tried to speed up things that completely stopped. We want peace, not another episode of pass-the-buck in the capers of this CBA.