> >STOP NATO: NO PASARAN! - HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.HOME-PAGE.ORG > >Up to 10,000 Protest in Bulgaria >SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP) -- Up to 10,000 people gathered in downtown Sofia >on Wednesday to protest the country's unemployment, poverty and >temporary-employment contracts. >The rally started with 2,000 marching in the capital's main streets, >waving purple union banners with slogans reading: ''No to poverty'' and >''We want jobs and a decent living, not charity.'' >The march was organized by the main Confederation of Independent Unions, >which claims over 1 million members. >Bulgaria's government, which has been implementing an International >Monetary Fund-advised austerity program, is facing rising public >resentment because it has failed to raise living standards and deliver a >promised economic growth of 4 to 5 percent a year. Last year's growth in >gross domestic product was 2.5 percent. >State company closures led to massive layoffs. In January, there were >657,100 out of work, or 17.2 percent of the workforce in this country of >8.2 million. That's up from 14.2 percent in September. >Union leader Zhelyazko Hristov argued on state radio that the real >unemployment rate was about 25 percent, because many people without jobs >were not counted in state statistics. >Hristov added that 680,000 employees worked with temporary short-term >employment contracts, which employers may easily refuse to renew if >workers as too demanding about their rights. > > >______________________________________________________________________ >To unsubscribe, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED] >______________________________________________________________________ >Start Your Own FREE Email List at http://www.listbot.com > __________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. Box 66 00841 Helsinki - Finland +358-40-7177941, fax +358-9-7591081 e-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.kominf.pp.fi ___________________________________ [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe/unsubscribe messages mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] ___________________________________
