For years now the Premier Soccer League (PSL) and the South African Football Players Union (SAFPU) have been at each other’s throats when it comes to the official recognition of the union.
But the two parties finally signed a collective bargaining agreement which gives SAFPU access to all the players in the 32 clubs in the PSL and Glad Africa Championship.
Speaking at the historic announcement on Tuesday, PSL chairman Dr Irvin Khoza says the main aim is to help improve the working conditions of professional footballers in the country.
This new collective bargaining agreement will also strengthen SAFPU’s position in the composition of the Dispute Resolution Chamber (DRC).
SAFPU President Thulaganyo Gaoshubelwe has been very vocal about the need to conclude this agreement in the past, from his days as the Secretary-General of the union.
At some stage, even their annual grant of about R1million was withheld from them as these processes took longer than expected. But on Tuesday, Gaoshubelwe said this agreement will resolve a lot of issues.
SAFPU has played a leading role in representing the players when there have been contractual disputes between them and the clubs.
They’ve been helping some of these players up to FIFA and Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) level, through their legal fees.
And throughout this time, they would be doing this without the players’ intermediaries who would’ve pocketed the 10% agents’ fees. Gaoshubelwe says this is one of the first things SAFPU and PSL have to talk about, the role of the football intermediaries in the country. – Report by Velile Mnyandu
