This is a shocker of a divorce. The Cine And TV Artists Association (CINTAA) has ended its 58-year-long association with its parent body, the Federation of Western Indian Cine Employees (FWICE), citing 'unethical practices'. The decision was taken on November 1 after the governing body allegedly failed to address CINTAA's concerns.

Sushant Singh, general secretary and spokesperson, CINTAA, says, “Our biggest issue was the unethical practices by Junior Artists Association (JAA) and Mahila Kalakar Sangh (MKS), under the garb of job-loss compensation and job-loss compensation and closed membership. They may claim to be making new members, but it's just on paper.“

He adds, “Their combined strength is around 2,000 members, which doesn't suffice the producers' requirements. They don't admit new members, thinking it would affect the job prospects of the old ones. It's a vicious cycle. Due to shortage of junior artistes, producers are forced to hire outsiders. The association will then raise a ruckus demanding compensation for loss of job, saying producers didn't hire their members. Isn't that unfair? Why can't they take in some new members instead? It has become an extortion racket. We decided to break away from the federation because they never objected to this practice, which in fact is the reason why a case has been filed against all its affiliates in Competition Commission of India.“

Sushant elaborates, “Those producers who didn't want to pay job-loss compensation, sent us applications of junior artistes in bulk, thus doubling CINTAA's membership between 2010-15. But this put our reputation at stake as our members can't be employed as junior artistes.“ He adds, “It put us in a precarious position, but how do you compromise on principles?“

However, Dilip Pithwa, Honorary General Secretary, FWICE, counters, “These allegations are baseless. We have ended many practices, including job-loss compensation, and CINTAA is aware of it. They need to furnish proof if they believe otherwise. We too keep hearing about discrepancies in CINTAA, but we can't point fingers without proof. They have indirectly hinted that we should dissociate from JAA and MKS, but that's not acceptable. We are here to fight for workers' rights and can't ignore their welfare.“

He adds, “We have always addressed CINTAA's grievances, but a solution can't be arrived at overnight. They didn't even wait for us to come up with a solution.“