Film Employees Federation of South India strike: Schedules of Kaala, Mersal affected

The Film Employees Federation of South India (FEFSI) has been on strike since 31 August. The move came after the Tamil Film Producers Council (TFPC) released an advertisement seeking technicians from outside the federation to work in Tamil films. According to a  Times of India report, the shooting of 30 films is stalled as technicians and craftsmen refuse to budge. [caption id=“attachment_4010993” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Mersal and Kaala. File image.[/caption] The FEFSI consists of 23 separate unions. Therefore, several big-budget films like Rajinikanth’s Kaala and Vijay’s Mersal, have reportedly been affected due to the strike. The members of the federation are at war with the TFPC because the latter chose to hire workforce from Tamil Nadu, allegedly neglecting the members of the federation. According to a report by  The Hindu, the TFPC thinks that the federation lacks the required skills and to fill the gap, the council had gone to technicians from outside the body. However, the federation feels that this move to recruit independent personnel will only wreak havoc in the industry. The new personnel might create their own union, which will possibly affect the business of the technicians registered with the FEFSI. The two bodies had attempted to settle the dispute on 4 September, but to no avail. Thereafter, FEFSI declared that it would hold an agitation rally at Vallavur Kottam on 5 September, asking the producers body to take the advertisement down, as per Scroll. This is not the first time that the two bodies are at loggerheads. The craftsmen had earlier gone on a similar crusade against the producers. The conflict was resolved after Rajinikanth urged the two parties to amicably end their differences. Therefore, another strike in such a short span of time has impacted the business gravely.