The Maharashtra government has formulated a 25-point standard operating procedure (SOP) for the film, TV, advertising, digital filming, music and audio entertainment industry, to regulate wages, payment for overtime, to ensure benefits from schemes such as gratuity, provident fund, and insurance from Employees' State Insurance Corporation. The government will also set up a dedicated portal for complaints, and redressal, along with registration of all businesses in the film industry, as well as registration of all workers. It is binding on the owners of film studios or agencies, and the contractors providing workers to the industry, to follow the SOP. The SOP will apply to all members of the film industry, from actors to spot boys, supporting actors, singers, voice artists, editors, technicians, backstage supporting staff, camera crew, hair and make up crew, casters, electricians, lightmen, helpers, generator operators, photographers, stunt artists, junior artists, dubbing artists and crane operators. The SOP mandates that all payments towards salaries will be made by the seventh day of every month, steady increments be given to employees working in organisations with a size larger than 1000, housing allowances will be given to employees of firms larger than 50 people, bonuses will be given to all employees totaling at least 15 days of salary in a year if the organisation employs more than 10 people, and where work is given to employees on the demand of the owner The SOP ensures employees will be paid gratuity if they are working for longer than five years, and insurance will be provided under the ESIC. The government has mandated that each employee will sign a direct contract with the employer for the duration of the work, and there will also be no involvement of middlemen for such contracts. The owner is mandated to have policies against sexual harassment at the workplace, with a grievance redressal cell for such complaints. For employing child artists on the sets, the government has mandated that the owner will ensure the child does not work longer than five hours a day, and not more than 27 days in a row. The Maharashtra Film, Stage and Cultural Development Corporation Limited and Film City Goregaon will develop a new portal where all businesses will have to register themselves, and all artists will also have to get registered. The same portal will also be used for logging complaints of any nature. A separate committee will be set up for redressing such complaints, under the chairmanship of the director of Film City, Goregaon. The government issued a resolution to this effect on Tuesday.
