Tollywood daily wagers go on strike; demand wage hike

All the shootings in the Telugu film industry have come to a standstill as the workers have gone on a strike from today.

Since the pandemic, the film industry has been incurring losses. Later AP ticket issues shook the entire industry.

When it was slowly picking up, the daily wage workers called for a strike asking the unions and the producers to increase their emoluments. All the film shoots in and around Hyderabad have come to a halt.

Sources said producers have not addressed this issue till now and are not interested in doing too. After they failed to elicit any response, the workers decide to go ahead with a strike till their salaries are hiked.

They are also reportedly exerting pressure on members of other unions and the film federation to stop work. Therefore, no movie shoots will place in Hyderabad from tomorrow.

Below are the pay scale details:

Cost Per day With (breakfast+ lunch and pick up from house is common)

Cleaners/ production boys Rs1145

The expected price by the worker (30%) is Rs1488

On Sundays and holidays Rs 2290

Expected Rs 2977

Cost of drivers per day Rs 1055

Expected Rs 1362

On Sundays and holidays Rs 2110

Expected Rs 2743

Cost of light man per day Rs 1100

Expected. Rs 1440

On Sundays and holidays. Rs 2200

Expected Rs 2860

Fighters Rs 3265

Expected. Rs 4244

Dancers Rs 2800

Expected. Rs 3640

Producers, who couldn't go complete films due to COVID protocols, had to pay huge interests to financers. And when films did not do well at the box office, the losses too mounted. A meeting is likely to be held by the producers federation to discuss the issue.