11-day TV strike ends, channels to air new shows soon

Couch potatoes can soon heave a sigh of relief as the 11-day impasse between the producers and television workers ended today. Leading channels such as Star Plus, Zee TV, Colors, Sony TV and others are likely to air new episodes of soaps and other telly shows starting this weekend, sources said. The Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE), representing over 35,000 television workers, and the producers guild, ended the strike with both sides agreeing to resolve their differences on workers' wages. 

According to FWICE President Dharmesh Tewari, workers will now move from a per day payment to a monthly payment module. "Their work timings will be between 9 am and 10 pm, beyond that they will be paid on a pro-rata basis," Tiwari said. This would bring relief to over 80 million cable and satellite homes in the country that were forced to watch the re-runs of old TV shows since November 9.