New Delhi: Congress leader and Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor has once again raised the “work culture” debate following a meeting with the parents of Anna Sebastian Perayil, a 26-year-old chartered accountant at Ernst and Young (EY) who tragically died of a heart attack attributed to “overwork.” Tharoor discussed the need for an accountability and new regulations to deal with the situation.
"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 regulations to reform the toxic work culture of bottom-line-obsessed under-staffed establishments, & better training for mid-level managers," Tharoor wrote in a post on X.
Tharoor also had a message for companies that asks employees to put in extra hours frequently.
"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," the Congress leader said.
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
Last week Tharoor had pitched for 8-hour workday, 5 days a week and had assured that he would raise the issue in the next Parliament session.
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"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," the Congress MP wrote.
Anna Sebastian Perayil, a chartered accountant from Kerala, passed away in July after working for just four months at EY's Pune office. Her mother, Anita Augustine, wrote a letter to EY India Chairman Rajiv Memani, highlighting the "glorification" of overwork at the multinational firm, which went viral this month.
In response to the public outcry, EY issued a statement expressing deep sadness over Anna's "tragic and untimely" death. The firm noted that it employs around 100,000 people across its member firms in India, and that Anna was with SR Batliboi during her short tenure.
"Since the death, EY has been in touch with the family, helping them but it is only now that her family has chosen to write to the company, complaining about the "excessive workload", the company said.