Ernst & Young affiliate operated Pune office without state permit: Maharashtra labour department
The accounting firm’s partner organisation was given seven days to comply with the Shops and Establishments Act, which regulates employees’ working hours.
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SR Batliboi, a member firm of the Ernst & Young Global network of accounting firms, has operated its office in Pune since 2007 without a permit from the state government that would have regulated its employees’ working hours, reported The Hindu.
The global accounting firm is facing an investigation in India after the death of 26-year-old Anna Sebastian Perayil, who passed away in July allegedly due to work-related stress she was facing at the affiliate firm.
In a letter to Ernst & Young India Chairman Rajiv Memani, Perayil’s mother Anita Augustine attributed her daughter’s death to “backbreaking work” conditions.
On Monday, officials from the Maharashtra government’s labour department conducted a day-long inspection of the SR Batliboi office, reported The Hindu.
“We have found that though they have been operating there since 2007, but they had not registered under the Shops and Establishments Act,” Additional Labour Commissioner Shailendra Pol told The Hindu. “This is a major irregularity.”
Pol said the company has been given seven days to comply with the Act.
On September 19, the Union government announced that it is investigating allegations of an exploitative work environment at Ernst & Young’s India offices.
The Maharashtra labour department recorded statements from a few employees and sought documents concerning the firm’s employment welfare policies, reported The Hindu.
“We sought data about Anna Sebastian Perayil’s case as...
