Sacked contract staff at FTII allege victimisation

PUNE: It was the last day at work for 82 contractual staffers of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) on Monday. The staffers spent the day seeking clarity from FTII director Prashant Pathrabe and registrar U C Bodake over their jobs. While the director said the decision to end their contracts was taken by the information and broadcasting ministry, the ministry officials said it was the call of the FTII administration.
Earlier last month, Pathrabe had issued a notice to the 82 staffers that they were not required in service as there was no work happening at the institute because of the ongoing students' agitation.
"The director and the registrar told us that it was the ministry's decision to sack us and he cannot do anything about it. He said the ministry is also waiting for the three-member delegation's report to be submitted. This is heartbreaking because S M Khan, who had led the delegation, had assured us that we will be given at least a month's extension in our jobs. My grandfather worked for Prabhat studios and since then our family's entire life has been spent at FTII," said a lightboy, who started working on contract at the institute 20 years back on a monthly salary of Rs 1,800.
The lightboy said the salaries of most contractual staffers who are being laid off range between Rs 8,000 to Rs 10,000. "Why have they not removed the other contractual staffers who are doing clerical jobs in the administration? We are being victimized for no reason," he alleged.
A senior I&B official said, "The ministry is not involved here. It is the FTII administration's decision to axe the staff." The Khan-led delegation, after seeking two extensions, is yet to submit its report.
The hiring of contractual staff at FTII has been outsourced to local contractors. Of the 150-odd contractual staffers, the administration decided to lay off production assistants who are directly involved in the making of students' diploma films.
"This is an unfair move by the administration. A majority of these staffers are from the art direction department or the production department. They are trained, skilled people who work for very little money. The administration and the ministry should try and solve the issue instead of making such a move which will put the future of FTII in jeopardy," said Ashutosh Kavishwar, head of the art-direction department at FTII.
The contract period is of 11 months which can be terminated earlier. "Most of our contracts were to end around September or October. We have to comply with what the administration tells us. The decision cannot be contested in court as it is an open tender," said Sanjay Gaikwad of Sigma Human Resources Pvt Ltd, the contractors which provide FTII with workforce.
Students termed the sacking of the staffers as a "blatant armtwisting mechanism" to break the strike. "Why are they victimizing the staff? They work here even on public holidays. If no work is the reason, then what are the other administration people doing in the institute?" asked Prateek Vats, an alumnus of the institute.