Sources inform ''Globes'' that State Comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss is due to publish a sharp report on nepotism at Israel Electric Corporation (IEC). The report will probably lambaste IEC senior management for allowing the hiring of employees' relatives in violation of procedures.
A draft of the final report has already been distributed to the relevant ministries and to IEC. Last month, State Comptroller Office officials met IEC district managers to receive their comments on the report.
Several months ago, a "Globes" expose first reported that IEC had hired hundreds of employees' relatives in recent years in violation of proper administration regulations. IEC district personnel managers, some of whom serve on the IEC national workers committee, allegedly approved the hiring of these relatives in breach of the regulations.
Lindenstrauss's report is part of a broader investigation into nepotism at government companies, including Israel Railways, the Israel Airports Authority, the Israel Ports Development & Assets Company Ltd. and the ports themselves.
Government sources estimate that Lindenstrauss's report will state that IEC employs 3,500 relatives of employees, 1,500 of whom are first-degree relatives (sons and daughters). This figure is far larger than the number that IEC reported in the past.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on November 12, 2007
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