A major irregularity has been found at the Pune office of EY member firm S.R. Batliboi and Co, labour department officials of the Maharashtra Government told The Hindu.
“We conducted an inspection yesterday. We have found that though they have been operating there since 2007, but they had not registered under the Shops and Establishments Act. This is a major irregularity. We have given them seven days for compliance. Our team conducted an inspection for the entire day on Monday (Seeptember 23, 2024) from 12 noon to 4 p.m. The Chief Labour Commissioner had given us the directions to conduct the inspection,” Shailendra Pol, Additional Labour Commissioner, told The Hindu.
Anna Sebastian Perayil, a 26-year-old chartered accountant, died in July, four months into her job at SRBC. Perayil’s mother, Anita Augustine, had written a letter to EY India Chairman Rajiv Memani stating that the “workload” and “long hours” had taken a toll on her daughter “physically, emotionally and mentally”.
The team of the Maharashtra labour department also recorded statements of a few employees and sought documents and details about the welfare policies implemented for the employees. The department is mulling over bringing in guidelines to give protection to young employees of big companies since they are not protected under Labour laws at present, top sources told The Hindu.
Speaking about the inspection at SRBC, Mr. Pol said, “We had sought data about Anna Sebastian Perayil’s case as well. We sought her appointment letter, her salary slip, and her compensation details. We got details about her employment period. The team found that ₹28.50 Lakh was deposited in her account for her employment for the period from March 11, 2024, to July 19, 2024. The company said they provided double remuneration for extra work. They also said that the employees are given comp offs for extra work hours. As per preliminary information, Anna was given comp off.”
There are 294 employees in the company and the labour department’s two-member team recorded the statements of a few of them. They were asked if they received minimum wages, double rate for extra working hours.
“Our shop inspector and government labour officer were sent there. They conducted the inspection under Minimum Wages Act, Equal Remuneration Act, Contract Labour Act, Payment of Bonus Act, Bombay Shops and Establishments Act. The team also inspected the digital registers of the company, and directed them to submit hard copies of the registers in seven days,” Mr. Pol said.
When contacted, EY told The Hindu, “SRBC & Co. LLP, a member firm of EY Global, is providing its full cooperation to the Ministry of Labour in its investigation. We cannot comment further while the investigation is ongoing.”
Minister of State for the Labour Ministry Shobha Karandlaje, in a post on X on September 19, said, “Deeply saddened by the tragic loss of Anna Sebastian Perayil. A thorough investigation into the allegations of an unsafe and exploitative work environment is under way. We are committed to ensuring justice & labour ministry has officially taken up the complaint”.
SR Baltiboi and Co. is one of the many member firms of EY India, as of March 7, 2024 according to the audit regulation document of International Chartered Accountants in India and in Wales (ICAEW).
Published - September 24, 2024 10:24 pm IST
