Welsh Rugby Union chief executive Martyn Phillips and head coach Wayne Pivac will both take a 25% pay cut as part of efforts to tackle the financial impact from the coronavirus pandemic, the WRU has said.
Dependent upon the needs of the business, other staff members would take pay cuts of either 25% or 10% as part of the cost-cutting measures, which come into effect on Wednesday, it added.
The decision was made to safeguard jobs and protect "the medium and long-term health" of Welsh Rugby, and negotiations over players' wages are ongoing.
"We are continuing our constructive dialogue with the Welsh Rugby Players Association (WRPA) and the Regions," Phillips said in a statement https://www.wru.wales/2020/03/staff-cost-savings-implemented
"This includes an exchange of information with the WRPA, particularly around the complex financials involved, so that all parties can come to an informed decision. We are working as quickly as possible to bring this to a conclusion."
Scottish Rugby has taken similar measures, with coach Gregor Townsend accepting a 25% wage deferral, while England coach Eddie Jones has accepted a pay cut of over 25% to ease the financial burden on the Rugby Football Union.
The RFU faces losses of up to 50 million pounds ($61.8 million) over the next year-and-a-half due to the outbreak but will still provide a 7 million pounds relief package to community clubs in the country. [nL8N2BI960]
The Irish Rugby Football Union announced last month that its players and staff agreed to having their wages reduced by 10% to 50% based on an "equitable sliding scale".
(Reporting by Hardik Vyas in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
