Israel Postal Authority becomes government company

Israel will have a new state postal company as of Wednesday. The company will replace the Postal Authority and will be required to face competition from the private sector. Called Doar Yisrael in Hebrew, the new company aims at making profits by adding advanced new services and becoming more efficient while continuing to provide mail services to the whole population. The decision to establish a for-profit government postal company was made by the government in September 2003, but there were delays due to concerns by the Postal Authority’s staffers about their rights and jobs. Israel Postal Company chairman Ya’acov Edri said: “Becoming a state company will have its advantages, as during the last few years, the authority accumulated heavy debts that could have led to financial collapse. We have now turned from a collapsing postal service to a coping one.