The legality of the West Indies Players' Association (WIPA) and the West Indies Player Management Company Limited (WIPMACOL) have been questioned by regional cricketers. It has been confirmed that players who play regional cricket for the Windward Islands Cricket Team, The Leeward Islands Cricket Team and the Combined Campuses Cricket Team have questioned the legality of WIPA and WIPMACOL. WIPA is the players' union, while WIPMACOL is an offshore company incorporated in St. Lucia and functions as a sports management entity and owns the image and playing rights of all of WIPA's members.
This players question how the office bearers are elected to WIPA saying that elections are held "in secret"; and that members of WIPA who WIPA CEO Dinanath Ramnarine consider to be unsuitable are not even told of the elections; and no one is permitted to nominate any other person. Additionally, it has been questioned who are the true office bearers of WIPA and how is it that the Chief Executive Officer is elected or appointed. The players are complaining because it it apparent that Ramnarine is supported only by some members of WIPA and has ignored the hardships facing the full membership in favour of attending to the needs of a few players who he see as "cash cows". West Indies middle order batsman Ramnaresh Sarwan who is an executive member has denied that WIPA has corporate sponsors; and said if that is true he would not agree with that. Speaking from the West Indies Team hotel in India Sarwan said that he was not sure about the day to day running of WIPA since that was "Ramnarine's business". He however admitted that WIPA and WIPMACOL are both managed and run by Ramnarine.
The issue of the management and control of WIPA and WIPMACOL arose in arbitration proceedings between WIPA and WIPMACOL before the agreed arbitrator the Honourable Justice Michael De La Bastide, the current President of the Caribbean Court of Justice where he questioned who were the principals behind the two organisations and was informed by Ramnarine that they were independent organisations. When De La Bastide asked for the registered officers of the two organisations he learnt that Ramnarine was a key office holder in both; but a mere two weeks later Ramnarine produced documents to show the the office bearers were completely different. The arbitrator questioned how it was that Ramnarine could contend that the two organisations were independent of his control when in two weeks he had reshuffled the Board of Directors of BOTH organisations. The arbitration continues.
However, of real concern to the regional cricketers who wish not to be named, the issue of how Ramnarine is elected and the transparency of the electoral process is being questioned. WIPA has never made public or disclosed the date and voting details at any elections; instead the results are announced from time to time and accepted because none of the players really appreciate what is going on at WIPA. Ramnarine is the self appointed CEO of WIPA and has incorporated the entity in Trinidad and Tobago but has refused to register WIPA in any of the other territories of the West Indies because regulatory control in other countries would require details which he is unwilling to make public. One legal expert said it was for the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) and the individual regional Boards to insist on compliance with the local law in each territory. "It is patently unfair for any public body to function in such secrecy and such a haphazard manner" he said. The lawyer continued; that "since WIPA was holding itself out as a representative of the West Indian players the WICB should demand the details of all elections held since it is the WICB that pays players and not WIPA they would be entitled to inquire into the entity claiming to be a representative of the players. Additionally, a lawyer in Guyana attached tot he Attorney General's department who wished not to be named said that "the laws of Guyana specifically provide for the furnishing of details of management and elections by every union and even further the deduction of union dues from the salaries of workers is not permitted in Guyana. He went on to say if WICB was deducting the union fees due to WIPA from Guyanese players that would be "contrary to Guyana law".
When asked for a comment via email Ramnarine refused to answer any questions about the corporate structure or management of WIPA or WIPMACOL. He said "that is my business and the business of the West Indian players; not the public". When telephoned and confronted with the assertion that WIPA was a public body and therefore amenable to the laws which apply to every public body Ramnarine said he was "not going to answer anything over the phone".
Regional players are unhappy that WIPA makes deals with sponsors which do not benefit them and they are unable to make any arrangements with sponsors independently because Ramnarine has threatened to sue any player who attempts that; always asserting that he owns their image and sporting rights.
