Suniel Shetty, Vivek Oberoi's next project halts as workers protest against unpaid wages

Actor Vivek Oberoi and Suniel Shetty’s upcoming OTT show Dharavi Bank faced a major hiccup after nearly 300 daily wage workers halted work due to unpaid dues of almost a month. Ashok Dubey, General Secretary, Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE) told Bollywood Hungama that the workers were building the set of the Zee Studios backed series Dharavi Bank, at the film city in suburban Goregaon. The work came to a halt on Tuesday afternoon.

The General Secretary said that more than Rs 50 lakhs unpaid wages are yet to be cleared by the production house. The show will stream on MX Player. Dubey claimed that nearly 300 workers are suffering due to an issue between the art director and the production house. He revealed that the workers on the set have not been paid for almost a month now and finally stopped working on November 23.

Workers from Vive Oberoi-Suniel Shetty's next project halt work due to unpaid wages 

When the entertainment news website contacted the production house, the representative informed that they got the bill (from the art director) on November 25, so they won't be able to immediately transfer the money to the workers. The estimated pending payment is more than Rs 50 lakhs. According to the new portal, the workers are part of the Film Studios Setting and Allied Majdoor Union. As per Dubey, earlier the payments of workers would come to the union, which would then transfer to them. But now as per the trade union guidelines, the workers are now required to be paid directly, which sometimes causes such kind of hassle. 

Now, the general secretary said that the production house has assured that the payment will be made, although with some delay. He shared that since the production house doesn't have details of all workers, they might directly pay the union, which then will transfer the funds. The production house are not denying paying the workers, they have just asked for some time to clear the dues. 

''The fact that there wasn’t any discipline of documentation from the crew employed. We actually raised the issues to the union and have told them to step in to close this issue. The pay-outs aren't held up due to any wilful delay from Zee Studios,'' the statement from the production team read. 

(Image: Instagram/VivekOberoi/PTI)