Skip to main content

"Our Children Working Like Slaves": EY Employee's Mother To Rahul Gandhi

Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Saturday spoke with the parents of Anna Sebastian Perayil, the 26-year-old Ernst & Young employee who died allegedly due to extreme work pressure. Over a video call, he offered them his sympathies and said he will ensure the tragedy becomes a catalyst for change.

"I spoke with the heartbroken parents of Anna Sebastian, a bright and ambitious young professional whose life was tragically cut short by toxic and unforgiving work conditions," wrote Mr Gandhi in an online post, sharing a video of their conversation.

He also praised Anna's mother for showing "remarkable courage and selflessness" and speaking up despite personal loss in the larger interest of improving working conditions of professionals.

During their conversation, Mr Gandhi asked Anna's parents how the atmosphere was at her workplace - "Was it very toxic? What was going on?"

Her mother replied with a "yes".

"She (Anna) used to always say that they had very long working hours. They have to work continuously. Night, Saturday, Sunday. No restrictions. Children are made to work like that. Mainly the young employees, new ones. She had no time even for her personal things," she said while sobbing on the video call.

"She called me every night and she would say 'Amma, I can't speak, I'm dead tired. I am going to sleep.' Even when she came back from office, she just (used to) drop on her bed. So exhausted," she added.

Anna's mother went on to say that children are subjected to torture and made to "work like slaves".

"Rahul ji, what I have to say is, only in India, children are subjected to such torture. If it is outside India, will they ask their employees to work like this? They say we have received freedom in 1947, but our children are still working like slaves. Even now they are working like slaves. Children who study so hard to reach where they are, being put through so much slavery, why? Why are our children made to suffer like this?" she added.

Mr Gandhi asked them if they want him to raise the issue in parliament. They said yes.

"We are fully with you. However we can support your cause, we are happy to do it," he said, assuring Anna's parents that he will fight for this cause in his capacity as the Leader of the Opposition.

Anna Perayil, a Chartered Accountant from Kerala who worked at EY India, died allegedly due to work-related stress, sparking a nationwide debate over work-life balance and corporate accountability.

In a statement on Wednesday, EY said that it is deeply saddened by Anna's untimely death and that it will continue to improve and provide a healthy workplace in its offices across the country.

The Union Labour Ministry has begun a probe into the circumstances that led to the EY employee's death.



from NDTV News- Special https://ift.tt/bXoyqZv

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Delhi to Get More EV Charging, Battery Swapping Stations as Cab Aggregators Increase E-Bikes

The NDMC is planning to increase the number of EV charging stations in Lutyens' Delhi and even provide battery swapping facilities at some of these points, a senior official said on Wednesday. With Delhi being among the most polluted capitals in the world, the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) has been making a push for electric vehicles to nudge residents to opt for cleaner vehicle options. There are around 100 electric vehicle (EV) charging stations across the national capital at present and this would be the first time that some of them would have battery swapping facilities, which is quite prominent in Western countries, he said. The official said the aim is to provide easy accessibility to charging stations and to save time by providing swapping facilities. This will give a major push to EVs in the city. Various PSUs, including the Rajasthan Electronics and Instruments Limited (REIL) and the Kerala State Electronics Development Corporation Limited (KELTRON), have approac...

PM Modi To Reschedule 3-Nation Europe Visit As Tensions With Pakistan Soar

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has put his three-nation Europe visit on hold as tensions between India and Pakistan have surged in the wake of the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam in which 26 civilians were killed by Pak-linked terrorists in a religiously-motivated terror attack. India responded on Wednesday with precision missile strikes on terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. PM Modi, who is closely-monitoring the situation, has reportedly asked for his visit to Croatia, Norway, and the Netherlands, which was due next week, to be rescheduled. As per his original schedule Prime Minister Modi was to commence his official visit to the three nations on May 13. He was also going to participate in the India-Nordic Summit in Oslo on May 15 and 16. All three countries have been informed about the change in PM Modi's schedule. They have also been appraised about the current situation between India and Pakistan. Last month too, on the day of the Pahalga...

After Nitish Kumar's 'Praise', BJP Says Doors Closed For Him

The opposition BJP in Bihar on Thursday said that its doors were "closed" for Chief Minister Nitish Kumar who dumped the saffron party a year ago, stripping it of power in the state. State BJP President Samrat Choudhary made the averment to this effect in reply to queries from journalists about the Janata Dal United leader's address to the convocation ceremony of Mahatma Gandhi Central University at Motihari. Speaking in the presence of President Droupadi Murmu and Governor Rajendra Arlekar, Mr Kumar had freely spoken of the tussle he had with the then Congress government at the Centre for getting a university approved for Motihari, where Mahatma Gandhi had launched the Champaran Satyagraha. Without mentioning Prime Minister Narendra Modi by name, Mr Kumar acknowledged that the project saw the light of the day only after a change of guard "in 2014" as the UPA government "initially refused and after much persuasion agreed in principle but did not move for...