The case of the death of a 26-year-old employee of Ernst & Young (EY), a well-known company in Pune, Maharashtra, is gaining momentum. The matter of the young woman's death due to workload has now created a stir in the political corridors as well. Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar has expressed concern over the death of youth due to stress.
Pune in-charge minister Pawar said on Thursday on the social media platform X that he was saddened to know about the death of an EY employee due to stress. He said that we need to pay attention to the increasing cases of youth dying due to stress. I hope that Ernst & Young India Company will take some strict steps to bring about improvement.
What is the matter?
Let us tell you, that 26-year-old Ana Sebastian Pirayil started working in the company in March 2024 in EY company of Pune, Maharashtra. She was a resident of Kerala. Ana died on 20 July. Ana's mother Anita Augustin had written a letter to EY's India head Rajiv Memani, making serious allegations about the company's work culture.
What is the stand of the Center?
After that, the Union Labor Ministry took cognizance of the matter. The ministry said that it had accepted the complaint. The circumstances of Ana's death will be investigated. Minister of State for Labor Shobha Karandlaje had said on the social media platform X, 'Saddened by Ana's death. A thorough investigation is underway into the allegations of unsafe and stressful environment. We are committed to ensuring justice. The Ministry of Labor and Mansukh Mandaviya has officially taken over the complaint.'
BJP leader had demanded an inquiry
Minister Shobha had given this reply to a post by BJP leader Rajiv Chandrashekhar. Shekhar had described Ana's death as very sad, but disturbing at many levels and demanded an inquiry into her family's allegations of a stressful environment at Ernst & Young India.
Father's claim - daughter was asked to leave the job
The girl's father Sibi Joseph said on Thursday that his daughter had to work till 12:30 at night. We had advised her to leave the job, but she said that it would help her move forward. The father further said that his daughter had told the senior officials of the company about the excessive workload, but no action was taken.
What did the company say?
Ernst & Young stated the letter from the mother of the 26-year-old employee went viral after her tragic death. The accounting firm had said that they would try to improve the work environment. EY, one of the four big consultancy firms, had said, 'We are deeply saddened by the tragic and untimely death of 26-year-old Ana Sebastian Pirayil in July this year. Our condolences are with the family. We are providing all kinds of assistance to the family and will find ways to provide a better environment for our employees to work.'
The company further said, 'However, no help can compensate for the loss suffered by the family. Still, we have given all possible help, as we do in times of crisis, and will continue to do so. We are taking the family's letter very seriously and humbly. We give utmost importance to the welfare of all employees. We will continue to find ways to provide and improve a better workplace for our one lakh people at EY firm in India.'
Mother had written an emotional letter.
Mother Anita had written in the letter, 'Ana had passed the CA exam in November 2023. Started working at EY in March 2024. She was full of energy. I was happy to get a job in such a prestigious company, but just four months later my world was shattered when I got the news of Ana's death. The saddest thing is that no one from the company reached her funeral.
She kept working tirelessly to fulfill expectations.
She further wrote in the letter that being her daughter's first job, Ana kept working tirelessly to fulfill the expectations of the company. Continuous work had a profound effect on her physical, mental, and emotional health. Soon after joining the job, Ana started having problems like anxiety, insomnia, and stress. No one can justify keeping employees busy even on Sundays.
No one attended the funeral.
She said that she used to work till late at night, even on weekends. She was not even given time to breathe. Her assistant manager once called her at night with a task that she was asked to complete by the next morning. She kept working all night. The next morning she reached the office without rest. The shocking thing is that no one from EY attended Ana's funeral. No one had even a minute to come to my daughter's funeral.
Forced to work day and night
At the end of her letter, Anita called upon the company to take responsibility. "There is no justification for burdening newcomers with such backbreaking work, forcing them to work day and night, even on Sundays... Anna's death is a wake-up call for EY. I hope this letter reaches you with sincerity. I hope my child's experience leads to real change so that no other family has to endure the grief and trauma we are going through," she wrote.
Ruckus on social media
The matter has started a different war on social media. Users are demanding to improve the work environment in offices. Many people are advised to work on their ability to withstand pressure. Many people have demanded improvement in companies like EY. Many people are also demanding better mental health, humane working conditions, and re-evaluation of pressure on young professionals. In a tweet, a user wrote, 'It must be said that the culture of working long hours and overworking is exaggerated not only in Big-4 but in many corporates. A wrong tradition has started to see it as the norm. Do you remember Narayan Murthy's 70-hour work week?'
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