Neha Maheshwri (BOMBAY TIMES; May 7, 2020)

If the situation improves from Coronavirus lockdown, shoots of films and TV shows will resume by the end of June. This was discussed during a video-conference on Monday evening, held between the Federation of Western Indian Cine Employees (FWICE) and the Cine Indian Television Artistes Association (CINTAA).

Birendra Nath Tiwari, president, FWICE, says, “We hope to resume shoots, but with guidelines in place. For example, every worker will be given four masks per shift (12 hours), along with social distancing and sanitisation being made compulsory. We will appoint a supervisor, who will be paid by the producer, on every set to ensure that the rules are followed. We have also demanded separate washrooms for men and women.”

He adds, “The producers, who haven’t cleared the dues of their workers, are expected to do it immediately. We will hold a meeting with the producers and broadcasters to design a better way to pay the workers. We want daily artistes to be paid within 15 days and others to be paid within 60 days from the day of the shoot, as opposed to the 90-day time limit. If it comes to minimising the work force on a set, we want producers to divide the unit into halves and pay every worker, irrespective. We have also asked the producers to increase the insurance amount to Rs 50 lakh in case of any mishap on a set.”He further explains, “Members above 60 years of age and pregnant women will not report to work for three and four months, respectively, but have to be paid their full salary.”