Film industry bats for fair deal

Various decisions aimed at the welfare of technicians and crew have been arrived at by the All India Film Employees Confederation (AIFEC), which met in Chennai for a two-day executive meeting which ended on Monday.

The apex body of associations in film industries all over the country has decided to fix a common wage scale and standard working hours, a move which is expected to benefit over six lakh people working across tinsel towns in India.

President of the confederation Dinesh Chaturvedy said that a national committee had been formed to look into issues affecting the workers. “The committee will delve into the issues and come up with solutions soon,” he said.

FEFSI president V C Guhanathan, who is the secretary of AIFEC, said that the 10 per cent pay hike given to light boys and other crew did not reflect price rise. “We have discussed other issues too,” he said.

AIFEC joint secretary Aparna Ghatak said that there was a huge variation in wages given to junior artistes and crew. “It is high time to increase the wages and to standardise it. Equality should be maintained,” he said.