New Delhi, Sep 22 (IANS): The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has taken suo motu cognizance of the death of a 26-year-old woman working at audit firm Ernst and Young (EY) in Pune allegedly due to excessive workload.

The Commission said that the contents of the media reports, if true, raise serious issues regarding challenges faced by young citizens at work, suffering from mental stress, anxiety, and lack of sleep, adversely affecting their physical and mental health while chasing impractical targets and timelines resulting in grave violations of their human rights.

“It is the prime duty of every employer to provide a safe, secure and positive environment to its employees. They must ensure that everyone working with them is treated with dignity and fairness,” the NHRC said.

It issued a notice to the Union Ministry of Labour and Employment, calling for a detailed report within four weeks and sought to know the steps being taken and proposed to be taken to ensure such incidents do not recur.

The Union Labour Ministry on Thursday ordered a probe after the deceased woman’s mother blamed the company for overwork.

In a heart-wrenching letter to EY India Chairman Rajiv Memani, deceased Anna Sebastian Perayil’s mother claimed that her daughter, 26, passed away on July 21 after being burdened with a "backbreaking workload" and "work stress".

Anna worked for four months at the accounting firm.

Union Minister of State for Labour and Employment Shobha Karandlaje said in a post on X that the Labour Ministry has officially taken up the complaint to ensure justice.

Anna’s mother in her letter to the Chairman said EY’s work culture "seems to glorify overwork while neglecting the very human being behind the role". She claimed that Anna would return to her room “utterly exhausted” but would again be “bombarded” with work messages.

The mother said that while Anna was “a fighter to the core”, “the overwhelming pressure proved too much even for her".

Meanwhile, Sibi Joseph, father of the young Anna, said they have no plans to take legal action against the company. “My wife wrote the letter to the Chairman to ensure that even though our daughter is gone, such a thing should not happen to any other person. We are not going to take any legal steps against the company also," said Joseph.