Overview

• The Telugu Film Industry Employees Federation formally rejected the Producers’ Guild’s proposal to grant wage increases to just 13 of 24 technician unions, calling it divisive.
• Producers had offered a 15% raise in Year 1 and 5% in subsequent years for workers earning under ₹2,000 per day, and 20% then 5% for those under ₹1,000, while excluding higher-paid categories.
• Federation president Anil Vallabhaneni said union leaders were open to negotiating below their original 30% demand but objected to any approach that treated workers unequally.
• With negotiations stalled, Tollywood remains shut down and the federation has warned that all film shoots will halt from Monday if uniform wage hikes are not guaranteed.
• Actor Chiranjeevi denied backing the strike, emphasizing that only the Telugu Film Chamber can engage producers and labour leaders in discussions.