EY Pune Employee Death: Shashi Tharoor Meets 'Anguished' Parents, Calls For Reforms In 'Toxic Work Culture'

EY Pune Employee Death: Amid nationwide outrage over the death of Anna Sebastian Perayil, a 26-year-old Chartered Accountant (CA) working at Ernst & Young in Pune, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Wednesday met the parents of the deceased CA and slammed the ‘toxic work culture’. 

Anna Sebastian Perayil, who hailed from Kerala, was working as CA at EY Pune’s office. Following Anna’s death due to alleged work pressure, her mother Anita Augustine wrote a letter to EY India Chairman Rajiv Memani, claiming that her daughter succumbed to excessive workload. 

Anna reportedly joined EY, one of the Big Four accounting firms just four months before she succumbed to ‘work pressure’. Anna’s mother also claimed that her daughter used to work late into the night and on weekends. She also mentioned that no one from the accounting firm attended her daughter’s funeral. 

What Shashi Tharoor Said? 

Sharing pictures with Anna’s anguished parents on X, formerly Twitter, Tharoor emphasized the necessity for a thorough inquiry and accountability to bring a change in the toxic work culture. His discussion with Anna’s parents centered on the implementation of new laws and regulations aimed at addressing the toxic environments prevalent in under-staffed organizations, alongside advocating for improved training for mid-level managers to foster healthier workplaces.

Paid an emotional visit to the parents of EY India’s Anna Sebastian Perayil, who died of a heart attack at age 26 from overwork and intolerable stress &pressure from her managers. Discussed with her anguished parents the need for an inquiry and accountability, new laws and… pic.twitter.com/2Lebg5NSbc

— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) September 25, 2024

The Thiruvananthapuram MP alleged that Anna died of a heart attack from "overwork and intolerable stress and pressure from her managers".

“If a company needs 16-hour days and nights from its employees all the time, it needs to hire more people, not abuse the rights of those it recruits and exploits," he further said. 

Tharoor earlier spoke to Anna’s father Sibi Joseph, and suggested a 40-hour work week. "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 posted on X on September 20.

"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," Tharoor said.