The central government ordered an inquiry
The Labour Ministry has now ordered an inquiry into the entire matter. Union Minister of State for Labour Shobha Karandlaje wrote on the social media platform X, ‘Deeply saddened by the demise of Anna Sebastian Perayil. The allegations of unsafe and exploitative working environment are being thoroughly investigated. We are committed to ensuring justice and the Labour Ministry has officially started processing the complaint.’
The issue further heated up when BJP leader Rajeev Chandrasekhar termed Anna’s death as “very sad and worrying at many levels” and demanded an investigation into allegations of exploitative working environment at EY India.
The girl’s mother’s letter went viral on social media
Anna’s mother Anita has stressed in her letter that the matter is not limited to her daughter alone but is related to every employee who has to face unreasonable expectations at the workplace. Her letter has gone viral on social media.
Anita Augustine wrote in the letter, ‘I am writing this letter as a grieving mother who has lost my beloved daughter Anna Sebastian Perayil. My heart is heavy, and my soul is shattered as I write these words, but I believe it is important to share our story so that no other family has to go through the pain we are going through.’
She further wrote, ‘EY was her first job, and she was thrilled to be part of such a prestigious company. But four months later, on July 20, 2024, my world collapsed when I got the devastating news that Anna had passed away. She was just 26 years old.’ Anita told that Anna was a promising student who always topped her studies and also passed the difficult Chartered Accountancy exam with good marks.
he/she said that for the past few weeks Anna had been complaining of chest tightness, especially on reaching her PG late in the night (around 1 am). On July 6, when Anna’s parents arrived in Pune to attend her CA convocation, they decided to take Anna to the hospital.
Mother’s letter on daughter’s death will shock you
Anita further wrote in the letter, ‘Her ECG was normal, and the cardiologist came to us to allay our fears, and told us that she was not getting enough sleep and was eating very late. …Though we had come all the way from Kochi, she insisted on going to work after seeing the doctor, saying there was a lot of work to do and she would not get leave. That night, she again returned to her PG late. On her convocation day on Sunday, July 7, she joined us in the morning, but she was still working from home till afternoon that day, and we reached the convocation venue late.’
Anita Augustine’s letter is heartbreaking. She wrote, ‘It was my daughter’s big dream to take her parents to her convocation with her hard-earned money. She booked our plane tickets and took us. It breaks my heart to tell you that even those two days, which were the last days we got to spend with our child, she could not enjoy them due to work pressure.’
She further wrote, ‘Her assistant manager called her one night with a task that had to be completed by the next morning, leaving her with hardly any time to rest or recover. When she expressed her concern, she was dismissed with, ‘You can work at night, that’s what we all do.’
he/she blamed the workload for his/her daughter’s death
Anita further wrote, ‘Anna would return to her room completely exhausted, sometimes even falling on the bed without changing her clothes. Then there would be a barrage of messages asking for more reports. She was working very hard to meet the deadlines, putting in her best efforts. She was not a quitter but a complete warrior. We asked her to quit the job, but she wanted to learn and gain new experience. However, the immense pressure proved to be too much even for her.’
None of the people Anna worked with attended her funeral. Anna’s mother wrote, ‘No one from EY attended Anna’s funeral. The absence at such a crucial time, for an employee who gave everything to your organisation until her last breath, is heartbreaking. Anna did not deserve this, and neither do all the employees who continue to work under these conditions.’
The company also expressed grief over the death
On the other hand, EY has expressed grief over Anna’s death. In response to a question from our sister newspaper Times of India, EY has said that they are “deeply saddened” by Anna’s “tragic and untimely demise”. EY said, ‘We are taking the correspondence with the family with utmost seriousness and humility. We give utmost importance to the health of all employees and will continue to find ways to improve and provide a healthy workplace for our 1,00,000 people working in EY member firms in India.’
EY said, ‘Anna was part of the audit team at SR Batliboi, a member firm of EY Global in Pune, and joined the firm on March 18, 2024. She was with us for only four months. The end of her promising career in this manner is an irreparable loss for all of us. Although no measure can compensate for the loss suffered by the family in this hour of grief, we have provided all possible assistance as always and will continue to do so.’