A third round of talks is scheduled on Saturday between representatives of the Film Employees Federation of Kerala (FEFKA) and the Kerala Film Producers Association (KFPA) over the hike in the wage structure of film employees.
FEFKA is made up of 19 different organisations that include drivers and directors. The previous two rounds of talks failed to resolve the wage issues as the two sides stuck to their stand.
According to an agreement, the wages have to be hiked every two years. On December 31 last year, the two-year window ended.
Speaking to IANS, Suresh Kumar of the Producer's Association said that it's natural that a series of discussions are held to resolve issues.
"We are ready for any reasonable settlement. Obviously, the two sides would always like to get the best deal, so delays might occur. We are hopeful that we will be able to finalise the new rates on Saturday," said Kumar.
At present, the lowest category wages for a day's work (9 am to 10.30 pm) is Rs 1,080 plus all expenses including food, travel and accommodation.
While the producers are ready to give a hike of 20 per cent, the FEFKA representatives want more.
In January 2016, the Association went on strike for seven days and stopped all production work, after FEFKA had demanded a wage increment of 33.5% for the technical staff.
The Association had also demanded that FEFKA return the additional amount they received from the producers of films that released during Christmas.
Backed by the Film Chamber, the Producers Association, which represents producers, exhibitors and distributors in Kerala, had claimed that the increase in payment will cause a huge financial loss to them.
As per reports, the film industry had incurred losses worth crores at that time due to the standoff.
With IANS inputs