| MUMBAI:
The Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE) has been on its toes for
some time now to recover claims of its members from different producers. After
Sony, the action has now shifted to Zee TV. "Just today, in our talks with
Zee TV and the producers Contiloe Films, we made them agree on the payment due
to our members for their serial Jhansi Ki Rani. While Zee has agreed to pay Rs
6.6 million by Monday or Tuesday, Contiloe Films has agreed to shell out the balance
Rs 2.8 million," said FWICE vigilance chairman Prem Singh Thakur.
The
ban on Smriti Irani was lifted recently by the FWICE after it was successful in
fetching a claim of between Rs 1-1.2 million paid up by the channel. Zee
Entertainment Enterprises Ltd COO national channel and Zee TV business head Nitin
Vaidya says, "We honour and respect the contribution of workers in the industry
and we are in favour of settling any dispute or issue." On
the specific issue of Jhansi Ki Rani, Vaidya declined to comment. "It is
an agreement between three parties and confidentiality needs to be maintained,"
he said.
According to Thakur, production houses who have defaulted in
their payments include Swastik Films (Rs 800,000 for Mata Ki Chowki), BAG Films
(Rs 8-9 million), Star Entertainment (Rs 35 million for The Biggest Loser), Creative
Eye Ltd. (Rs 6 million) and many others. Production
houses are blaming some broadcasters for the present mess. Says a cautious Boney
Jain, "The industry knows in what condition 9X is. They have been considerate
and have been paying up in small amounts. I pray that they get enough funding
so that they can clear their dues to several of us." Industry sources say
Jain has to recover around Rs 70 million from 9X. Defaults
from organisations like Creative Eye Ltd. which owes Rs 6 million to junior artistes
is unimaginable, according to Thakur who is also senior vice-chairman of the Film
Studio Setting & Allied Mazdoor Union, the chairman of which is Mithun Chakraborty. "All
said and done, producers and channels need to understand the worth of every worker
and pay off their dues in time. Time is near when disgruntled workers will unitedly
wage a war against defaulters," exclaims Thakur. | 
