Popular local television channel Siyatha has been accused of not paying its dubbing artists for over two years. Posting on social media, a former dubbing artist Manruchi Siriwardhana accused the channel of not paying for dubbing work done since 2018.
He noted that while many artists had warned him that it was difficult to collect payments from the channel two personnel from the dubbing unit had assured him that he would be paid on time. However, he said things only had gone downhill from that point.
According to Siriwardhana the non-payment of dubbing artists had started from the radio drama ‘Sanda Gini Gani’ broadcast on Siyatha radio. While artists had been paid initially later it had been neglected. While artists had then refused to work, the channel had used a different set of artists to dub the program instead of paying the original voice over actors. However while cheques were later provided they had merely bounced back as the account had not been active, Siriwardhana revealed.
According to Siriwardhana while he had worked for six months he had been merely paid Rs. 4000. “I was told I was due much more” he said adding that he had to constantly remind the relevant individuals about the payments due to him. While many promises had been made about payment, Siriwardhana said they had failed to deliver.
While Siriwardhana had then gone on to write to the dubbing unit around six months prior, he said he has not received a response since. He also said the accounts department and the administration department of the channel was often uncontactable. “If they cannot pay they should not get artists to do their work” he said. Revealing the plight of dubbing artists in Sri Lanka, Siriwardhana also revealed that often channels pay their artists only after 4 – 6 months of obtaining their services.
