The Ministry of Communications, under Shlomo Karhi, seeks to fine the Israel Postal Company NIS 1,175,013 for "the closure of three postal units and violation of a direct instruction from Minister of Communications De. Shlomo Karhi not to close postal units." For its part, the Israel Postal Company says that the units in question were run by external franchisees, and that it is taking action to man them again.
Last week, an attempt by Karhi and Minister of Regional Cooperation David Amsalem, who is also responsible for the Government Companies Authority, to dismiss Israel Postal Company chairperson Mishael Vaknin, was ruled illegal by the High Court of Justice.
Israel Postal Company is in the process of being privatized, and, under a recovery program forced upon it to prepare it for sale to a strategic buyer, it has to lay off a fifth of its workforce. Karhi nevertheless continues to intervene in the internal management of the postal service and its branches. In this instance, he opposes the closure of units in Rishon Lezion, Netivot, and Meitar.
Karhi said in a statement: "Together with promoting the privatization with full force, we will maintain service to the public and will not allow Israel Post’s management to harm the weakest members of society. Any closure of a branch without approval will be accompanied by fines, and any harm caused to citizens will be accompanied by close supervision. Privatization yes, and at full power, for the benefit of the public, but even before that we will not abandon the service to the public."
Israel Postal Company stated in response: "At stake are agencies that were operated by external franchisees who decided to end the activity of the units. The closure of a postal unit operated by an external franchisee is not dependent on a decision by the Israel Postal Company but on the decision of the franchisee. We would remind all concerned that Israel Postal Company is prevented from hiring new employees as part of the recovery agreement with the government of Israel. The recovery agreement included the dismissal of 20% of Israel Postal Company’s employees and a under its terms the company is forbidden to hire new employees and re-expand its workforce."
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on March 14, 2024.
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