Written contracts to maternity benefit: Job protection for women is eroding

Young EY employee's death sparks debate about workplace culture and conditions

The death of Anna Sebastian Perayil, a 26-year-old employee of Ernst & Young (EY), has started a debate about workplace culture and conditions, particularly for women, in the Indian labour market.

An analysis of data in the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS), which studied regular salaried employees and was released earlier this week, points to worrying trends in work conditions for women in rural and urban India. Conditions are stark going by three key metrics: The percentage of regular wage or salaried women employees without written job contracts, those not eligible for paid leave, and those who