The Film Employees Federation of South India (FEFSI) president R.K. Selvamani announced on Sunday that they would begin a strike from August 1 if the producers’ council refused to give wages demanded by the federation.
Addressing media persons after an emergency meeting, Mr. Selvamani said that one of their main demands was that only members of FEFSI should be used in film shoots. “The FEFSI has nearly 25,000 members and it is unfair if the council refuses to pay the wages which have already been agreed upon,” Mr. Selvamani said.
Reacting to the strike call, actor Vishal, president of the Tamil Film Producers’ Council (TFPC), said that there would be no change in their stand and that they would continue shooting with or without support from the FEFSI.
Last week, the TFPC had urged its members to work only with those who agree to the wages fixed by the producers’ council and further stated that if they refused to comply, they could use non-union labour to continue with their shoots, which had drawn flak from the office-bearers of the FEFSI. The council had also released a strongly worded statement, urging members not to work with any persons who interrupt or disrupt shooting.
‘Not consulted’
Office-bearers from FEFSI said that nearly 30 films were in various stages of shooting. Angamuthu Shanmugam, FEFSI general secretary, alleged that they were not consulted by the producers council before they decided to fix the revised wages and call sheet details.
A statement released by the producers’ council in response to FEFSI stated that while they had no issues in working with other unions, they refuse to work with the technicians union until they compensate for the loss incurred by the production house associated with the movie Billa Pandi due to them stopping work, which had affected the shooting.
“The technicians union should compensate for the loss incurred and only then will we work with the union. Until this issue is resolved, we do not wish to proceed with the discussions related to wages,” the statement said.
