EY CA Death: Shashi Tharoor’s ‘Emotional And Heartrending’ Conversation With Anna Sebastian’s Father

Taking to his official X (formally Twitter) account, Tharoor, who is a Member of Parliament from Kerala's Thiruvananthapuram, said Anna passed away after a cardiac arrest, following "four months of deeply stressful seven-day weeks of 14 hours a day" at the Big Four accounting firm.

He further said he had a "deeply emotional and heartrending" conversation with her father, Siby Joseph. "He (Anna's father) suggested, and I agreed, that I raise the issue of legislating, through Parliament, a fixed calendar for all workplaces, whether in the private sector or the public, that would not exceed eight hours a day, five days a week," Tharoor said.

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"Inhumanity at the workplace must be legislated out of existence with stringent punishment and fines for offenders. Human rights do not stop at the workplace," the Congress MP wrote.

Had a deeply emotional and heartrending conversation with Shri Sibi Joseph, the father of young Anna Sebastian, who passed away after a cardiac arrest, following four months of deeply stressful seven-day weeks of 14 hours a day at Ernst&Young. He suggested, and I agreed, that I…

— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) September 20, 2024

He also said he will raise the matter at the "first opportunity" during the next session of Parliament, which is expected to be held in December.

Anna Sebastian Perayil's father spoke to the media this week and said she had to work through the night, till 12.30 am. "We advised her to quit, but she insisted that this stint would provide valuable professional exposure," Siby Joseph said.

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He also claimed the issue of extreme work pressure was mentioned before the senior officials of the EY, but no action was taken.

"She had complained to the assistant manager, but they insisted on working even at night," he said.

In a letter to the chairperson of EY India, Anna's mother penned down the tragic story behind the death of her daughter. She claimed that Anna had to work tirelessly for long hours, which impacted her mental and physical health.

Anna's death has divided the netizens over work ethics and a fair work-life balance. Many corporate giants believe that Indians lack work ethics and need to overwork to attain the right skills. Billionaire Narayan Murthy, founder of Infosys, famously said that Indians need to work at least 70 hours a week to make India a developed nation. Actor and BJP MP Kangana Ranaut also supported the idea of overwork and said that it should be "normalized."

However, data suggests that overwork can not only have an impact on someone's health; it can actually take one's life too. In Japan, there is a specific term for death due to long working hours—karoshi. In 1969, the first case of Karoshi was recorded when an employee of a newspaper company in Japan died because of  overwork, which led to stroke.