Indian Motion Pictures Producers Association (IMPPA) seeks help from Maharashtra Chief Minister,Uddhav Thackeray, and Labour Minister against the Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE) against allegedly scamming and cheating workers of the
film industry.
Sending written letters, IMPPA requested strict against FWICE for the same.
TP Aggarwal, the President of IMPPA, said, "FWICE has always been raising the bogey of unpaid dues of workers where they have been caught out and that is why they are making false claims actually.
They have to answer how they have without any land or any legal standing proposed and sold houses as dreams to workers in the Dada Saheb Phalke housing Society."
"IMPPA has written to the Maharashtra chief minister to provide him with first-hand knowledge of the treatment of workers by FWICE who claim to be the main and sole representative of Cine workers in western India" he added.
Previously, a formal complaint at the Amboli police station in Mumbai was lodged on the basis of pamphlets and advertisements on social media issued by FWICE that claims that the association has acquired a land measuring around 253 acres in Karjat, situated opposite Shelu station in the Raigad district. It further mentioned that FWICE is in the process of construction of as many as 50,000 houses on the aforementioned plot of land, and has offered to sell the flats to people working in the film industry.
Responding to IMPPA's accusations, FWICE said in a statement, "FWICE strongly feels that this is a ploy of IMPPA to help the producers who have defaulted on the payments of the workers and technicians against whom the FWICE have raised complaints to the Labour Department for recovery of the legitimate dues of all the complainant members. We demand the office bearers of IMPPA to apologize for this gross misconduct. FWICE stands by the dignity and honour of its workers and technicians and also stand by the producers and support the FWICE and reciprocate with maintaining similar dignity and honour to its members."
It further reads, "There are crores of rupees of our members who have not been paid by the producers and the cases have been forwarded to the Labour Commissioner and we expect sooner resolution of these pending cases. Renowned production houses have been in the default list of the FWICE and our members are awaiting to receive their hard-earned money from these defaulters."