Film employees protest seeking higher wages

CHENNAI: Hundreds of members of the Film Employees Federation of South India (FEFSI) staged a protest here on Monday. Hire wages was their top demand. They also wanted refund of money collected for a housing project for them in Payanur.The protestors said FEFSI President VC Guhanathan did not take steps to revise the wages of different unions over the past three years. “So far, we have submitted 11 letters to the president over the last three years urging him to revise the wages, but he doesn’t seem to be least bothered about it,” said R Dhanapaul, Secretary, South India Cine and TV outdoor Unit Technicians Union.The protestors gathered at the FEFSI complex to meet Guhanathan, but he is believed to have refused to come out his office.The protestors said that colleagues attached with nine crafts unions of the film industry have requested him to revise the wages before the announcement of election date. They said, initially he promised to discuss with the producers association about reducing working hours from 23 to eight hours, fix the basic wage at Rs 500 and revise the wage agreement period to one year.The protestors complained that “instead of taking up their issues with the Tamil Nadu Film Producers Association, he was involved in campaign work for the DMK party in Tiruvarur and Kolathur”.Immediately after the announcement of the election result, the producers association president Ramanarayanan resigned from his post. Following this, Guhanathan also submitted his resignation, said Raman, secretary, Lightmen’s Association.Members refused to accept the resignation for various reasons. When the previous government run by the DMK party announced a housing project for the film workers at Payanur, many registered paying Rs 3,500 each to Guhanathan, said Dhanapaul.The protestors said their money should have been refunded before the resignations.As Guhanathan neither made efforts to raise wages or refund the housing registration fee, the film workers met Tamilnadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa to address their issues.