BackCine workers to go on strike from 15 August, big film projects could be hit
Nearly 250,000 cine employees and workers, including spot boys and junior artistes on film sets and in the television industry, will take part in the strike starting 15 August
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Mumbai: Nearly 250,000 cine employees and workers will go on an indefinite strike from 15 August, demanding various issues pending with the producers are addressed at the earliest.
The spot boys, junior artistes and all the workers on film sets and in the television industry will take part in the strike under the aegis of the Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE). “We are going on a strike with our long-pending demands. The workers are being made to work for over eight hours a day. There is a major issue of their safety. No provision has been made for the security of the workers," FWICE president Birendra Nath Tiwari told PTI.
He said the workers had raised a similar demand in 2015 and were then assured by the producers that their increments would be raised by 13% in the first year, “which never happened."
“They (producers) said they were facing losses due to GST (goods and services tax), demonetisation etc. and had settled for a 7.5% hike for the workers of the elite unions. But, those on a monthly basis are suffering. They are being treated as slaves," he added.
According to Tiwari, the grievance of the workers was largely against the television producers and not the film producers. “The workers do not get payments even after 90 days. By then, the producer says let’s settle the matter because he is facing losses. We have always been supportive, but things are just not working now," he said.
The projects likely to be affected due to the strike include Shah Rukh Khan’s next film, which is being directed by Aanand L. Rai, Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Padmavati and Amitabh Bachchan’s Kaun Banega Crorepati Season 9.
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