Stiff opposition developed today within the coalition Government over an announcement of a 20 percent boost in telephone rates effective April 1. Davar, organ of the Histadrut dominant group in the Coalition, assailed the increase in a sharp editorial.
Announcement of the rate increase followed widespread complaints that faulty, automatic billing equipment was grossly overcharging telephone users on their bills. There were also complaints that the Post Office Department was using delaying tactics against a court-appointed expert investigating the complaints of overcharging.
The economic committee of the Knesset, Israel’s Parliament, also was critical of the rate increase and will call in the director general of the Ministry of Posts for an investigation.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
