NRL and referees head to arbitration after talks break down
The battle between the NRL and the referees will head to arbitration after mediation talks between the parties spectacularly broke down.
The referees union, the Professional Rugby League Match Officials Incorporated (PRLMO), and the governing body spent more than three hours locked in conciliation talks at the Fair Work Commission today.
Proposals and counterprososals were tabled and rejected, leaving the parties at an impasse just nine days away from the scheduled resumption of the NRL season. The legality of the NRL’s changes to the rules and refereeing structure will now be decided by an arbitrator, an extraordinary and unexpected obstacle to restarting the competition.
ARLC chairman Peter V’landys has deftly got all stakeholders on board for the May 28 resumption including the government, health authorities, clubs, the players and even broadcasters. But the PRLMO hasn’t ruled out industrial action over the plan to revert to one referee per game for the first time in over a decade.
The union claims Rugby League Central didn’t properly consult with them prior to announcing the change, claiming failure to do so represents a breach of their enterprise bargaining agreement. The stoush is set to continue for at least a few more days as the Fair Work Commission has yet to set a date for arbitration.
“We made the NRL an offer we thought was fair and genuine,” PRLMO chairman Silvio Del Vecchio told the Herald.
The stoush between the NRL and the referees has escalated.Credit:Getty Images
“Without real consideration, it was rejected. They made us an offer that was very immaterial to us and we left in the end. We agreed that we weren’t going to reach an agreement and advised the commissioner that we will move to the next step, which is arbitration.”
Earlier this month, the Herald revealed the referees are considering strike action over plans to switch back to one whistleblower. The NRL subsequently guaranteed the jobs of all 22 members of the full-time squad will be retained, but the move wasn’t enough to placate frustrated match officials.
The NRL is hoping to get a favourable ruling at arbitration and then move to overhaul the use of the bunker at the end of the season. Consideration is being given to a proposal from South Sydney star Damien Cook to increase the number of captain’s challenges in a bid to increase the number of referrals to the video referee.