Barca Invite Players to Negotiate Following Wage Cut Rejection
The club was blasted by the Spanish Footballers' Association after players were excluded from talks
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Barcelona have invited the club's players into negotiations regarding a blanket wage reduction for all staff members, but the players are not expected to attend as they await an entirely separate meeting.
It has been reported that Barca are looking to reduce all salaries, club-wide, by around 30 per cent, but the club's players are not on board with that pay cut.
The players have stated that they will reject any proposal made by the club as they had not been given the chance to sit in on negotiations on Wednesday.
In response, the players are expected to resort to legal recourse if their demands are not met. They believe playing staff contracts should be treated separately to the board of directors and all other non-playing staff employees.
That stance has since been backed by the Spanish Footballers' Association (AFE), who said the process so far "suffers from serious formal defects".
On Wednesday, Barcelona announced that they would like to bring players into the discussions as they look to meet this season's budget.
"The constitution of this labour negotiation is part of this package of measures that the club has already been implementing in recent months, and which have helped reduce management costs and the sports payroll of all professional sports," the statement read.
"The aim of the club is to reach an agreement with the entire workforce of the club, which will go through a joint solution of temporary, gradual, proportional, and specific salary adjustment for each of the groups.
"Given the importance of the decisions that must be taken to ensure the sustainability of the club during the impact of the pandemic we are experiencing, the club remains open to the incorporation of the representation of players in this negotiation, which meets the requirements established in accordance with Article 41.4 of the Workers' Statute.
"The configuration of these negotiations, which must be unique, will allow the adoption of decisions according to the specificities of each group, a will already shared with professional players.
"All of this will surely contribute to meeting this season's budget and, at the same time, to laying the foundations for tackling the great challenges that will come with the best guarantees, once this global health crisis has been overcome."
Next up for the Catalan club is El Clasico this weekend as they host Real Madrid in the two giants' first clash this season.
