Congress leader Shashi Tharoor met with the parents of 26-year-old Anna Sebastian, an Ernst & Young employee, who reportedly died due to extreme work pressure. Tharoor highlighted that if a company requires employees to work 16-hour days consistently, they should consider hiring more staff.

During his “emotional” visit, Tharoor shared a picture with Sebastian’s parents on social media handle X. Congress MP informed that he spoke with them about the urgent need for an inquiry and accountability, as well as a new law to address “toxic work culture”.

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

“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,” the post read. 

“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,” he further added.

Earlier, the Tharoor shared that he had a deeply emotional conversation with Anna’s father, Shri Sibi Joseph. Tharoor said their agreement on the need to address this issue by proposing legislation in Parliament for a fixed calendar to regulate working hours across all workplaces.