Centre to probe death of young EY employee after mother complains of work pressure

New Delhi, Sep 20

The Union Labour Ministry on Thursday said it will officially probe the death of a 26-year-old woman working at audit firm Ernst and Young (EY) in Pune after her mother blamed the company for overwork.

Anna Sebastian Perayil, 26, passed away on July 21 after being burdened with a "backbreaking workload" and "work stress", claimed her mother Anita Augustine in a heart-wrenching letter to Chairman Rajiv Memani.

Anna worked for four months at the accounting firm.

"Deeply saddened by the tragic loss of Anna Sebastian Perayil. A thorough investigation into the allegations of an unsafe and exploitative work environment is underway," Union Minister of State for Labour and Employment Shobha Karandlaje said in a post on X.

"We are committed to ensuring justice and the Labour Ministry has officially taken up the complaint," she added.

The MoS said this in response to a post by BJP leader Rajeev Chandrasekhar, who described Anna's death as "very sad but also disturbing at many levels".

"I request Govt of India @mansukhmandviya @ShobhaBJP to investigate these allegations made by the mother of unsafe and exploitative work environment that claimed the life of a young, full of future Anna Sebastian Perayil," he said.

Augustine in her letter to the Chairman said EY’s work culture "seems to glorify overwork while neglecting the very human being behind the role". She claimed that Anna would return to her room “utterly exhausted” but would again be “bombarded” with work messages.

The mother said that while Anna was “a fighter to the core”, “the overwhelming pressure proved too much even for her".

Facing severe backlash on social media, EY India, in a statement said that the company was deeply saddened by Anna's death and was taking the family's correspondence with the "utmost seriousness and humility".

"We place the highest importance on the well-being of all employees and will continue to find ways to improve and provide a healthy workplace for our 1,00,000 people across EY member firms in India," the company added.

Meanwhile, Sibi Joseph, father of the young Anna, said they have no plans to take legal action against the company. “My wife wrote the letter to the Chairman to ensure that even though our daughter is gone, such a thing should not happen to any other person. We are not going to take any legal steps against the company also," said Joseph.