BY CARL-ERIK ISACCSSON
STOCKHOLM, Sweden - Tens of thousands of unemployed workers and others demonstrated in more than 200 cities across Germany February 5 demanding better unemployment benefits and jobs. The actions, which were called by unemployed groups and backed by the trade unions and the Catholic church, drew 40,000 people, organizers said. Some of the biggest protests were in eastern Germany, including rallies of 500 in Dresden, 300 in Schwerin, and 2,000 in Berlin.

The protests were inspired by the actions of jobless workers in France over the previous months. In Stuttgart, for instance, at least 100 protesters gathered outside the unemployment office under a banner reading, "The government needs a French lesson."

There are about 1,200 locals of the organization for the unemployed, which are tied to the trade unions. They plan to continue holding protests until the federal elections on September 27. Organizers say they hope to sweep away the coalition government headed by Chancellor Helmut Kohl of the Christian Democratic Union.

The protests coincided with the publication of the unemployment figures for January, which registered yet another post-World War II high. The number of jobless workers in Germany climbed to 4.8 million - 12.6 percent of the workforce. This is up from 11.8 percent in December last year and 12.2 percent in January 1997. The earlier record for one month was in February 1997, when 4.67 million workers were registered as unemployed.

The gap between jobless rates in eastern and western Germany has continued to grow. In the west, 3.24 million were registered unemployed in January this year, a rise of 171,000 since December, but slightly less than in January 1997. The figure represented 10.5 percent of the workforce in western Germany - up from 9.9 percent in December.

In eastern Germany 1.59 million were registered unemployed - 180,000 more than in January 1997 and 131,000 more than last December. The jobless rate there rose to 21.1 percent, up from 19.4 percent in December 1997 and from 18.7 percent a year ago. There are now areas in the east where a third of the workforce is unemployed. In greater Berlin area joblessness stands at 18.5 percent.

Carl-Erik Isacsson is a member of the metalworkers union in Sodertalje, Sweden.  
 
 
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