Allied Mazdoor Union brings Film City to a halt
11:47 AM
Neha Maheshwri Bhagat (BOMBAY TIMES; May 14, 2014)
The shoot of several telly shows came to an abrupt halt yesterday, following a strike at Film City, the city’s shooting hub.
The
Allied Mazdoor Union, comprising lightmen and spot boys, went on strike
after a union member was allegedly manhandled by the staff of a leading
production house last evening.
Says a producer requesting
anonymity, “The union has differences even with Federation of Western
India Cine Employees (FWICE), the parent body. They informed us a month
ago that they have disarmed the wing and have nothing to do with the
union. And that we can take legal action if they trouble us. They have
made many unreasonable demands, including 50,000 for a show per month as
hafta.
They also threaten us saying they won’t shoot beyond a particular time
and want their dues to be cleared immediately. No producer would want
the telecast to suffer and so, we often give in to their demands.
However, yesterday, they reached the set of a show and started
protesting, which brought the shoot to a halt. When things came to a
head, a production member beat one of them and the union decided to go
on strike. The shoot at Film City has come to a halt and it’s spreading
to other locations too. It would be a loss of 5 lakh per show.” Sanjay
Shrivastav, general secretary of the Allied Mazdoor Union, remained
unavailable for comment.
---------------------
Ankur Pathak (MUMBAI MIRROR; May 14, 2014)
Late Monday evening, a
fight broke out between workers of the Allied Mazdoor Union and Balaji
Telefilms, whose soap Kumkum Bhagya was being shot at the Killick Nixon
Studio in Chandivali, Andheri.
Union leader Gangeshwar Shrivastav alleged that the Ekta Kapoor-owned production house was unethically making their workers slog for really long hours.
"The maximum a worker can shoot is 12 hours but they continue for 15-18 hours," groused Shrivastav, adding that when they intervened, Balaji crew members started beating them. Upset by this, the 41,000 workers of the union unanimously decided to call a flash strike.
"Not only do they make our members work like slaves, they then have the gall to assualt us. These production houses cannot exploit us like this," Shrivastav raged.
The workers went on strike on Tuesday morning. Since most were at Film City, work came to a standstill at the studio. A common ground between the Union and Film City officials was reached only after a meeting was called around 3 pm.
Film City's Joint Managing Director, Mangesh Mohite, criticised Shrivastav's arbitrary decision and said: "It was a private matter between Balaji and a few union workers, which should have been reported to the cops. To disrupt Film City for six-seven hours was uncalled for."
Shrivastav's defence was that he wants all the production houses to follow the rules, which include not only sticking to the shift timings but also giving wages daily instead of monthly. "If our demands are met, we will not stall work," he said.
A meeting has been scheduled among the Film City officials, the Allied Mazdoor Union and the Indian Motion Picture Producer's Association on May 20, where they intend to discuss the issues of timing and wages.
Around 10 projects including Dharma Production's Varun Dhawan-Alia Bhatt starrer Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania, Red Chillies' Shah Rukh Khan-Deepika starrer Happy New Year and even Kapil Sharma's popular show, Comedy Nights With Kapil, have sets erected at Film City. But since shooting was not underway, SRK and Karan's films were not affected by the strike.
But Kapil wasn't so fortunate. Said an official from the production house, "His shoot was delayed by a few hours. But by early evening, the issue was sorted out and the shoot was resumed."
When contacted officials from Balaji Telefilms refused to comment on the issue.
Union leader Gangeshwar Shrivastav alleged that the Ekta Kapoor-owned production house was unethically making their workers slog for really long hours.
"The maximum a worker can shoot is 12 hours but they continue for 15-18 hours," groused Shrivastav, adding that when they intervened, Balaji crew members started beating them. Upset by this, the 41,000 workers of the union unanimously decided to call a flash strike.
"Not only do they make our members work like slaves, they then have the gall to assualt us. These production houses cannot exploit us like this," Shrivastav raged.
The workers went on strike on Tuesday morning. Since most were at Film City, work came to a standstill at the studio. A common ground between the Union and Film City officials was reached only after a meeting was called around 3 pm.
Film City's Joint Managing Director, Mangesh Mohite, criticised Shrivastav's arbitrary decision and said: "It was a private matter between Balaji and a few union workers, which should have been reported to the cops. To disrupt Film City for six-seven hours was uncalled for."
Shrivastav's defence was that he wants all the production houses to follow the rules, which include not only sticking to the shift timings but also giving wages daily instead of monthly. "If our demands are met, we will not stall work," he said.
A meeting has been scheduled among the Film City officials, the Allied Mazdoor Union and the Indian Motion Picture Producer's Association on May 20, where they intend to discuss the issues of timing and wages.
Around 10 projects including Dharma Production's Varun Dhawan-Alia Bhatt starrer Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania, Red Chillies' Shah Rukh Khan-Deepika starrer Happy New Year and even Kapil Sharma's popular show, Comedy Nights With Kapil, have sets erected at Film City. But since shooting was not underway, SRK and Karan's films were not affected by the strike.
But Kapil wasn't so fortunate. Said an official from the production house, "His shoot was delayed by a few hours. But by early evening, the issue was sorted out and the shoot was resumed."
When contacted officials from Balaji Telefilms refused to comment on the issue.
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