Film Workers Announce Strike

Representatives of the Andhra Pradesh Film Employees Federation (APFEF) on Thursday issued an indefinite strike notice to the Telugu Film Producers Council (TFPC), demanding an immediate hike in their salaries.

In the notice, the representatives urged the TFPC to issue a deadline for the implementation of revised salaries, and announced that they would go on an indefinite strike, starting Friday, if their demands were not met with immediately.

Earlier this year, representatives of the APFEF had held meetings with the TFPC members, wherein they had insisted on a 30-60% hike for their 14,000 members. The producers, however, had turned a blind eye to their demands.

Commenting on the alleged nonchalant attitude of the TFPC, APFEF President Kotagiri Venkateswar Rao said, "We had earlier demanded that the salary hike be implemented from March 1st, but the producers' council hasn't taken any action," and added, "We are eligible for a 30% hike in 3 years."

According to sources, the producers are adamant about adhering to the guidelines issued by the South Indian Film Chamber Of Commerce, and hence cannot agree to the workers' demands.

Following the strike notice, an emergency meeting of the Telugu Film Producers Council has been called for on Thursday evening at the AP Film Chamber Of Commerce.

Earlier, in December 2010, the Telugu film industry had suffered huge losses due to a 35-day strike imposed by cine workers.