Hyderabad: The strike by Telugu film workers entered its sixteenth day on Tuesday, with unions staging protests over wage hikes and four other pending demands.
Under the banner of the Telugu Film Federation, members from 24 crafts staged demonstrations at the federation’s offices in Krishna Nagar and Jawahar Nagar. Workers also blocked the Annapurna–Shivanekar road to press their demands.
Film Federation president Anil Kumar said the unions were scheduled to meet actor Chiranjeevi at 3 p.m. to discuss the deadlock, followed by a meeting with representatives from the Film Chamber at 4 p.m. He stated that workers were ready to resume duties to avoid disruption for producers but insisted that pending dues of ₹13 crore be cleared immediately.
Film workers strike sees demand for wage settlement
Anil Kumar clarified that producers would be free to hire skilled workers of their choice, and the unions had agreed to allow non-local fighters and dancers if adequate local workers were unavailable. He added that while unions opposed the denial of double payment on Sundays, they had reluctantly accepted partial compromises, citing workers’ need for extra income to support families.
