Producers Raise Alarm over Pay Hike, Disclose Wage Structure

Hyderabad: The Telugu film producers have raised concerns over the sharp rise in film production costs, mainly due to recent increases in daily wages for technicians and production staff. They stated that this wage hike has made it difficult to manage budgets, especially for small and medium-budget films.

Producer Prasad Malladi, who works on several small-budget projects, said that the increased wages have become a heavy burden and are affecting the feasibility of making such films.

According to the Producers Guild, some unions have recently demanded up to a 30% wage increase, further straining production budgets.

Revised Wage Structure

For workers earning less than ₹2,000 per day:

• Year 1: 15% increase

• Year 2: 5% increase

• Year 3: 5% increase

For workers earning less than ₹1,000 per day:

• Year 1: 20% increase

• Year 2: No increase

• Year 3: 5% increase

To address these challenges, a special meeting was held at the Telugu Film Chamber of Commerce in Hyderabad with producers and members of the Telugu Film Employees Federation. The meeting focused on the impact of wage hikes on production budgets and discussed possible solutions to balance workers’ needs with producers’ sustainability.