Union Minister Shobha Karandlaje reacts to death of 26-year-old CA at EY Pune due to ‘work stress’

India's Minister of State for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises and Labour and Employment Shobha Karandlaje on Thursday said the death of Anna Sebastian, a 26-year-old chartered accountant employed by Ernst & Young (EY) in Pune, was “deeply saddening”. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader added that a “thorough investigation” was underway into the allegations made by Anna's mother Anita Augustine.

On X (formerly Twitter), Karandlaje wrote: “I am deeply saddened by the tragic loss of Anna Sebastian Perayil. A thorough investigation into allegations of an unsafe and exploitative work environment is underway. We are committed to justice and @LabourMinistry has officially taken up the complaint.”

Karandlaje was responding to a post by BJP leader Rajeev Chandrasekhar, who called the incident “disturbing on many levels” and demanded an investigation. “This is very sad but also disturbing on many levels. I request the Indian government @mansukhmandviya @ShobhaBJP to investigate these allegations by the mother that an unsafe and exploitative work environment cost the life of young, promising Anna Sebastian Perayil,” the former Union minister wrote.

Meanwhile, EY has issued a statement on Anita's explosive email to Rajiv Memani, the Indian CEO of the multinational consulting firm.

“We are deeply saddened by Anna Sebastian's tragic and untimely death in July 2024,” EY said. EY has been in contact with the family since the death and is helping them, but only now has her family decided to write to the company and complain about the “excessive workload.” EY said it will continue to improve and ensure a healthy workplace in its offices across the country.

“Anna was part of the audit team at SR Batliboi, a member firm of EY Global, in Pune for a short period of four months and joined the firm on March 18, 2024. That her promising career has ended in this tragic way is an irreparable loss for all of us,” EY said in the statement.

It went on to say that no measure could compensate for the family's loss, but that the company had provided all possible support and would continue to do so.

“We receive the family's correspondence with utmost sincerity and humility. The wellbeing of all employees is of paramount importance to us and we will continue to look for ways to provide and improve a healthy workplace for our 100,000 employees in EY member firms in India,” it added.