Baroka chairperson Khurishi Mphahlele has issued a warning to his players after they went on strike following a delay in payment, telling them to return to training immediately.
Baroka have been relegated from the Motsepe Foundation Championship to the ABC Motsepe League with three games to spare.
The players have not been paid salaries this month, with Mphahlele saying the delay is because of the club’s cashflow. This resulted in the players not going to training this week.
Despite players not yet being paid, Mphahlele insisted they didn’t follow the right procedure in their employment contract.
“We’ve sent a warning notification for that strike,” Mphahlele told Sowetan. “What they are doing is a breach of contract. If they don’t come tomorrow [Wednesday], we will have to escalate the matter.”
Asked when the players were supposed to receive their monies, Mphahlele said they are still sorting out the salary and don’t have exact dates.
“We only pay them the salary when it is due and we had some issues with the cashflow because of the payment. So, we are still sorting out the salaries. If they have problems with the salaries, they should come to me. You can’t just go on strike because of that,” he said.
“It is not even the whole month. Today is the 12th... sometimes I give them in the middle of the month, it depends on the cashflow. But they get their salary every month even though they are not performing.
“We will see what will happen tomorrow, then I will take action. We will wait for them and they must answer for their actions.”
With the club relegated to the amateur league, Mphahlele feels some of them don’t want to go with the team to the lower league.
“They don’t want to go there, but they have demoted the status that has been feeding them for years. If they don’t want to go there, I don’t have a problem with them.
“I don’t even think that if we take them to ABC, they will promote us back. I don’t have that belief. If they relegated us here, I don’t think they are even good for that league. We could end up in the Hollywood league.”
Baroka are set play their final match against Upington City on Sunday.
Sowetan
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.