While labor leaders and officials at the Port of Ashdod insist the port is run in accordance to law regarding hiring. Nevertheless, a recent state comptroller’s report documents that 36% of the employees at the port are related. The report released on Wednesday 5 Marcheshvan documents the nepotism that exists at the port despite claims of denial from all level of labor and management.

The State Comptroller’s Office probed hiring policies at the port along with other large government companies including the Israel Electric Company, the Port of Haifa, the Israel Airports Authority, Mekorot Water Authority, and Israel Railways.

The report cites a significant drop in the hiring of relatives in those companies, but the same cannot be said at the Port of Ashdod where the decrease in the number of related workers dropped, but not significantly. The report says the number of new employees related to others working at the port remains far higher than acceptable. The reports covers the period of 2009-2011.

Port officials released a statement responding to the report, explaining the report addresses a time period preceding 2013 and the number of relatives employed at the location continues to drop annually.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)