OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canadian women’s soccer players testified during a government hearing on Thursday that they don’t trust the sport’s national governing body to negotiate a fair labor agreement, remarks made after management went public with proposals for equal pay and division of prize money.
“It is time to get a deal done,” Canada Soccer general secretary Earl Cochrane said in a statement accompanying proposals the federation said were made to the women’s and men’s national teams last June. “We’ve been negotiating in good faith and want to get to a resolution with our national teams.
“In order to get there, we need both of our national teams to agree,” he added. “Our women deserve to be paid equally and they deserve the financial certainty going into the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.”
Canada’s women, the reigning Olympic soccer champions, have demanded equal pay, following the lead of their American counterparts who last year reached a landmark collective bargaining agreement with the U.S. Soccer Federation.
Janine Beckie, another of the four players at the hearing, said the team felt “quite disrespected” by Canada Soccer’s annoucement and claimed included terms not previously communicated to players.
The women’s previous collective bargaining agreement expired at the end of 2021 and the men are seeking their first formal labor contract. Players from both teams have asked that Canada Soccer open its books and detail a marketing agreement with Canadian Soccer Business.
The men boycotted an exhibition match in June ahead of the team’s first World Cup appearance in 36 years.
Decrying the lack of movement on an agreement, the women announced last month they planned to sit out the SheBelieves Cup in the United States, and Canada Soccer responded by saying the planned action amounted to an illegal strike.
The team went on to play under protest. Players wore T-shirts that said “Enough is Enough” during the national anthem. At the opening match against the U.S., both teams gathered in a circle on the field before kickoff in a show of solidarity.