Shooting of daily television soaps as well as films in the city was severely affected due to the agitation called by the federation.

"Workers are present at the studios but are not working. It is our non-co-operation," Dharmesh Tiwari, Secretary FWICE, which controls 22 unions covering different crafts of the film business, said.

Film shootings have come to a halt even as the artistes also stayed away from the sets. Shooting at Balaji Telefilms, the largest content provider for television is also not happening, he said.

Tiwari said the decision to agitate was taken after matters reached a boiling point. "We are not demanding any thing extra... Only the wages as signed in the Memorandum Of Understanding (MOU) between the producer associations and workers federation," he said.

"A lightman, for example, should get minimum of Rs 450 for working 8 hours a day. But, he ends up working for more than 24 hours and does not get payment also. He carries lighting equipments on his shoulders throughout the day. Can any film shooting happen without a lightman or a carpenter who works on creating the film sets," he asked.

Tiwari said even the actors working in daily soaps do not get paid on time and are asked to work for prolonged hours resulting in sickness or even fainting on the sets.