The Centre has stepped in to probe the death of 26-year-old Pune-based Chartered Accountant, Anna Sebastian Perayil, who was an employee at audit firm S R Batliboi, a member firm of EY Global.

Perayil lost her life due to work pressure and backbreaking workload at the audit firm, her mother had alleged in a letter this week to EY India Chairman Rajiv Memani that went viral. The young employee had allegedly succumbed to work pressure four months after joining EY in April this year. 

Union Labour Ministry on Thursday said that it has officially taken up the complaint and that a thorough investigation into the allegations of an unsafe and exploitative work environment is underway.

“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.

We are committed to ensuring justice & @Labour Ministry has officially taken up the complaint”, Shobha Karandlaje, Minister of State for MSME and Labour & Employment said in a post in microblogging platform ‘X’.  

She also in the post tagged Mansukh Mandaviya, the Union Minister of Labour and Employment and Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports.

Karandlaje was responding to another post on X by former Union Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology, Skill Development and entrepreneurship, Rajeev Chandrasekhar. 

“This is very sad but also disturbing at many levels?

“I rqst [request] Govt of India, Mansukh Mandaviya and Shobha Karandlaje to investigate these allegations made by the mother of unsafe and exploitative work environment that claimed the life of young , full of future Anna Sebastian Perayil”, said the post by Chandrasekhar.

Meanwhile, Ajit Pawar, Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra, on Thursday said in a post in platform ‘X’: “Very saddened to hear about the death of a 26-year-old employee of EY in Pune. The rising cases of young people dying due to stress need our attention. I hope Ernst&Young India will take corrective steps”.

EY’s RESPONSE 

Responding to the allegation made by Anna’s mother, EY had in a recent statement said “We are deeply saddened by Anna Sebastian’s tragic and untimely passing in July 2024, and our deepest condolences go to the bereaved family.

Anna was a part of the Audit team at S R Batliboi, a member firm of EY Global, in Pune for a brief period of four months, joining the firm on March 18, 2024. That her promising career was cut short in this tragic manner is an irreparable loss for all of us. While no measure can compensate for the loss experienced by the family, we have provided all the assistance as we always do in such times of distress and will continue to do so.

We are 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 100,000 people across EY member firms in India.”

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