RPA chief executive Damien Hopley has accused PRL of taking them for a ride as the row over players' wages rages on.
Last Monday, Premiership clubs voted unanimously to cut the salary cap by £1.4m from the 2021-22 season.
Premiership players have undertaken 25 per cent wage cuts during the lockdown and face the prospect of the reductions being made permanent.
RPA chairman Mark Lambert has not ruled out strike action as a last resort.
Hopley told TRP: “A couple of weeks ago PRL came to our board meeting for what we thought was going to be a collective discussion around the financial landscape of the game, but we quickly found out they were there to request a permanent 25 per cent reduction in salaries.
“In the end it became clear they were stringing us along while ultimatums were being presented to players at club level, with a June 18 deadline.”
Lambert, who has made 239 appearances for Quins, said: “We very much see it (a strike) as the last action, but it's difficult for us to entirely rule out any options.
“We've got members with existing, fixed-term contracts in some senses being strong-armed into thinking they have no choice but to sign an inferior contract.”
“This is a totally unacceptable way to operate. Players are the lifeblood of the game and should be treated with respect.”
Hopley added: “No player wants to see his club going bust. They want to help their clubs and it worries us that a couple are rumoured to be very vulnerable. We understand what the clubs are doing – it's based on their need to survive.”
The Myners Report shows that 24 players are costing the Premiership £14m. Hopley said: “That model was a busted flush. The owners are a great bunch, but a one-size-fits-all 25 per cent off everyone won't work. There are 99 players earning over £300,000, and £6m plus going out in agents fees.
“Some clubs are enlightened, others are trying to strong-arm players into making long-term decisions in just a few days. The better clubs have brought them in and explained the situation – others have just said ‘this is it'.
“Would England internationals faced with losing 25 per cent start to think that they maybe should look abroad to France or Japan – it's a short career and they need to optimise their earnings. The players generate 85 per cent of the RFU revenue, of which 30 per cent goes to the clubs through the Professional Game Agreement.
“When we come out of this the players and the clubs have to work together, and the way this has been handled has put a lot of backs up.
“The big question is how you align the owners with their very different financial resources.
“When you talk with the owners individually they all want to find a way through this, but then when you get to a collective position with PRL it all seems to break down.”
COLIN BOAG
