Tollywood votes for new union leaders as Bengal curbs guilds' control over crews

Technicians and workers of Bengal's film and television industry began voting on Saturday to elect new leaders for the 26 guilds of the Federation of Cine Technicians and Workers of Eastern India (FCTWEI), the body that controls much of the hiring on Tollygunge sets. Shooting has been halted for the two days of polling, which ends on Sunday.

The vote is the first contest for the federation's leadership since the exit of Swarup Biswas, who headed it for years by nomination while his brother Aroop Biswas was a minister in the Trinamool Congress government. It comes a day after the state government issued an advisory that would curb the federation's power over who works on a shoot.

A new rulebook for shoots

The advisory, signed by Information and Cultural Affairs Secretary Saumitra Mohan and reported by WION on Friday night, covers film, television, OTT, web series and digital productions shot wholly or partly in the state, in any language. Its main provisions:

Producers, not unions, should decide how many artists and technicians a project needs, based on its scale and budget; associations should not insist on a minimum headcount.

Guilds, federations and associations should not make membership cards a condition for getting work. A senior department official told PTI that this was "a key provision".

Overtime beyond an eight-hour shift on feature films, OTT shows and web series should be paid at twice the hourly rate, with at least six hours' rest between two schedules.

Producers must pay at least the Labour Department's statutory minimum wages, pay dues on time, and issue written contracts before work begins. Sets must provide drinking water, sanitation, first aid, safe transport after late shoots and safeguards against harassment.

Associations may look into complaints of non-payment and recommend action through a fair process, but the government has ruled out blanket industry-wide bans. The department also plans a digital directory and grievance system, and enrolment of workers in health insurance and provident fund schemes.

'Election, not selection'

Actor and BJP leader Mithun Chakraborty, who has been overseeing the polls, visited voting centres at Technician Studio and NT One on Saturday along with Shibpur MLA Rudranil Ghosh. Only voters, candidates and election officials were allowed inside, with police present and CCTV mandatory, ETV Bharat reported.

"Earlier it was 'selection', not 'election'. This time everyone is voting peacefully," Chakraborty told ETV Bharat Bangla. "In democracy no one's work can be stopped," he said, promising to act against anyone who tried to keep others off sets. He said he had led a workers' union in Mumbai for 30 years and wanted to rebuild the federation the same way.

Not everyone in the ruling party is convinced. Tollygunge MLA Papia Adhikari told Dainik Statesman that many people who held posts under Swarup Biswas were candidates again, which raised doubts about how neutral the election would be, and that Chakraborty had been given "a wrong impression". Rudranil Ghosh replied that no one could be denied the right to vote, and that those who work on merit would survive.

Background

For years, producers and directors complained that the federation under Swarup Biswas fixed crew sizes, demanded union cards and effectively banned people who fell out with its leadership; several filmmakers went to court. After the BJP formed the government in the state this year, a meeting at Nandan in August with Chakraborty and Minister of State for Information and Cultural Affairs Purnima Chakraborty promised "no politicisation of Tollywood", Millennium Post reported.

What happens next

Polling ends on Sunday, when certificates for candidates elected unopposed may also be issued. The new federation leadership will have to decide how to respond to the advisory, which is not a law; the department has said it will review how it is followed with producers and unions.