CHENNAI: Virtually snapping its ties with the Film Employees Federation of South India (FEFSI), members of the Tamil Film Producers Council on Monday announced that it will not have any agreement with the trade body from now, and producers will directly employ labour for their films.
The decision of the producers council has been another twist in the six-month-long impasse between the FEFSI and producers over revision of remuneration for 23-crafts of film employees like directors, cinematographers, lightmen, make-up artistes, stuntmen, junior artistes and dubbing artistes.
Since 2000, the remuneration of film crew has been usually fixed every three years jointly by the Producers Council and FEFSI, an umbrella body. Though the last agreement expired in January last year, no new ones have been signed for most of the 23-crafts so far.
Change in the leadership of the council after the Assembly elections in April last year caused initial delay, and talks were held only in June, during which the new pay for six crafts was agreed upon. No agreements have been signed since, and FEFSI has blamed the unwillingness of the producers to revise the pay of employees.
Unwilling to wait further, FEFSI had announced on January 20 this year, that its 20,000-members would not work henceforth for the old pay, and had instead announced its revised fare for different employees. Peeved by this ‘unilateral announcement of revised fare’, the Producers Council on Monday has announced that it does not have any agreement with FEFSI henceforth.
This decision was taken at an emergency general body meeting of producers held on Monday. “Producers from now can employ any technician and other film employees of their choice,” announced S A Chandrasekaran, after the meeting.
Those film employees willing to work for the producers will do so on the earlier payscale, and a committee would then be formed by the producers council to fix their salaries and wages, said an official press statement.
“We have not been unreasonable in our demand to increase pay for employees by 30 per cent to 50 per cent this time. This is the usual increase proposed, and the difference between our proposal and that of producers is only about `50. Also, most of the producers have already been paying us according to the new payscale,” explained Siva, secretary of FEFSI.
Ruling out the possibility of a strike, FEFSI spokespersons have responded that they will stick their ground for a new payscale for employees.