CM adviser meets Tolly reps

Kolkata: West Bengal chief minister adviser Subrata Gupta met BJP MLAs Roopa Ganguly, Papiya Adhikary, Hiran Chatterjee and Rudranil Ghosh on Monday to map out the future of the film industry’s guilds.The state’s intervention follows widespread panic after Adhikary’s announcement, dissolving the long-standing Federation of Cine Technicians and Workers of Eastern India (FCTWEI) and its 26 guilds. Adhikary sought to replace it with a new body, Eastern India Motion Pictures and Cultural Confederation, of which she is the president.The unrest escalated the following day when 800-odd technicians assembling at Bhorat Maath were attacked with eggs, bricks and stones by alleged outsiders. In response, technician representatives met Ghosh and information and cultural affairs department bureaucrats, requesting them to forward a letter to the CM.Monday’s high-level meeting was organized to dispel the industry unrest.Post the meeting, all eyes were on FB post of actor and BJP member Kanchana Moitra, who shared a poster that claimed the new confederation had got the official stamp of recognition. “I shared the poster after I found it widely shared online. I will be very happy if this new confederation gets wings in the industry,” Moitra said.But the decision to abolish all guilds has not gone down well with many. “The guilds are registered under the West Bengal Labour Act. No one can arbitrarily disband them. Besides, an industry without guilds can become exploitative. FCTWEI had its anomalies that need correction. With Swarup Biswas gone, the last thing we need is an exploitative work culture,” said director Subrata Sen, one of the 15 signatories that took Federation to court.A Nabanna source said the state would not ruffle feathers of worried technicians. “Before a notification is issued by the govt, it is unethical to share such a poster, announcing a decision. Swarup is arrested but that doesn’t mean there is no decorum. Everyone is aware that skilled technicians always wanted some problematic rules of FCTWEI to be amended. But they feared job loss and couldn’t speak out. The industry has to follow labour laws and guilds cannot be disbanded just like that. There is a protocol,” the source said. The source clarified all the 26 guilds will remain functional under skilled, neutral functionaries, with a committee overseeing operations for six months before fresh elections are held.