A four-day workshop on ‘Gender inclusivity and professionalism in Malayalam cinema’ being organised by the Kerala State Women’s Development Corporation (KSWDC) will conclude here on Sunday.
Minister for Women and Child Development Veena George inaugurated the workshop in which technical sessions witnessed participation from representatives of various fora in the film industry and invited guests.
The first technical session discussed the four labour codes that would be implemented by the Union government and how these would impact the audio-visual sector. Apprehension were raised that not enough had been studied about the cinema sector where the employer-employee relationship existed only for a limited time before including laws regarding the film sector in the labour codes.
Discussions were also held on insurance for employees in the film sector. Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA) representative Edavela Babu said the first step in this regard should be taken by the government. Human resource professional Varkiachen Pettah, who led the session, said that since audio-visual workers did not come under the ESI insurance cover, discussions should be held with the government on bringing them under the Employee Compensation Act.
Creative suggestions were made on ensuring safety of women. Women in Cinema Collective representative Bina Paul said special consideration should be given to addressing problems faced by women alone. Women worked in the industry not just as actors but also as technical and non-technical workers. Many a time, they did not have even basic facilities such as toilets. Financial and physical exploitation continued in the name of casting and many other ways. Contracts were often not signed, nor was any fastidiousness shown about implementing the provisions of the contract.
Special legislation for the film sector was mooted at the workshop. Draft State rules for the labour codes were published. Recommendations that arose at the workshop and opinion of various film sector organisations should be codified, following which the Labour department would take necessary steps, Labour Commissioner Chithra S. said.
