European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 24, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                After several hours on the bus germans from the East arrive to begin work at their jobs in the West. Corrine Engel right fills out packaging forms at Neckermann a mail order business in Frankfurt am main. I it a v a amps photos by Ken George a Long Days journey into the West by de Reavis staff writer Gorinne Engle spends As much As eight hours a Day Riding a bus 300 Miles to and from work. A ,. A. Her situation is not that unusual hundreds of thousands of former East germans faced with growing unemployment and rising prices commute daily to the West to support their families. Quot its a lot of stress All right Quot Engel said Quot but its better than collecting unemployment its the Best solution for the moment and who knows How Long this moment will last Quot Engel s daily Odyssey begins in the Village of. Schwarze Hausen 1.4 Miles from the town of Eisenach in Thuringer in the former East Germany a 150 Miles from her Job in Frankfurt am main. She works the 3 . To 11  shift but must leave Home every Day at about 11 am she does t get Back a Home until about 3 . The next Day. Heavy traffic on the roads from the former East Germany into Frankfurt makes the commute especially Long. Engel is one of 800 other Eastern germans who commute to work in the packaging and shipping department of one of the country a largest mail order businesses. Neckermann. A a germans traditionally have been considered immobile As a work Force preferring to live and work in the same place throughout their lives. The situation in the East has. Changed  i did no to hesitate a moment when the Opportunity came to work in the West. My husband saw mass unemployment coming to us quit his Job and now works in a Yogurt factory in the of Luau Region of Bavaria Quot Engel said. A Quot a a a Quot. A a a his Job is about 210 Miles away. Quot he comes Home every 14 Days. Its a difficult period yes but we re fortunate that we even have work. We re also Lucky that my Mother lives in the neighbourhood and takes care of our 7-year-old daughter Caroli we re still paying for a House we bought before the Berlin Wall came Down a a Engel said the former East germans Are depressed and disappointed that recovery is taking so Long. As unemployment grows they become even More depressed. A. A. A Quot there a  Petty jealousy about those of us who have gone West to find work Quot Engel said a unemployment is the most acute problem facing the 16 million Eastern germans during the reunification process. A /. -. \ a. A. -. A during the communist regime unemployment was unknown. For just about every Job. In the country More people were employed than needed a practice which a resulted in Quot hidden unemployment Quot labor experts said. When the two Germany became one the Sham be Onomy collapsed and the unemployment become visible. A a a a a. Quot a. A a a a a a experts reckon the economic upheaval could put 6 million of the 9.7 million Eastern German workers out of jobs before things begin to improve. They claim improvement should come sometime in mid-1992. According to the German labor Bureau in Nurnberg nearly 300,000 Eastern germans commute daily to the West to work and they expect that number to Rise to half a million Eastern germans in the near future. Roland Escher 48, Ais works for Neckermann. His Home town Ger Spungen is also in Thuringer just across the Border from the state of Hessen. Quot we were used to having our place of work right in the town we lived. When i saw my old factory cutting jobs i quit and took this one my wife Bettyna works Here too Quot Escher said. A. A. He jumped at the Chance to work in Frankfurt although it meant spending six hours a Day at least on the bus. A a Quot it Wasny to a Gamble a he said. Quot at my age one does no to take a Gamble. The old East Germany was going Down the dram economically. Everyone sees that. The chances a of. Finding work in my Trade making factory holds were less than . A. A �.���.�.�. The Escher have two daughters Ages 17 and 13 both Are still serving their apprenticeships near Home but the family separation for most of the Day is a problem. Quot we have to make the Best of it. This Job is one of the better ways to survive Quot Escher said. A. I Engel and Escher have been with Neckermann since a the company opened the jobs to Formet East germans last october. Quot we had trouble filling the positions with people in this area and went East and found the 800 people we needed in no time at All Quot said Hubert Kahmann. Spokesman for Neckermann. A a the .5,000 Neckermann employees in the Frankfurt Headquarters come from 49 countries and work three shifts a Day. A a the germans from the East Are picked up by company buses every  pay 98 Marks about $59 per month Lor the service. V. A a Quot we pay West wages around 2,400 Marks about a $1,435 a month and they get All the benefits any Western German , including All the company discounts Quot Kahmann said. A Quot a a v a a a a a. A v. Kahmann said the Eastern germans Only work four Days but get paid for a five Day week As compensation for the Long hours on the Highway. Quot we thought there d be trouble with our other employees about that but they accepted it Quot Kahmann a  v a Kahmann said the company even offered housing in the Frankfurt area to the commuters but had no takers. Quot Why should they life in the Eastern states is still a lot cheaper a for example housing and utilities Are 40 packaged merchandise ready for mailing leaves the Neckermann company on its Way to customers. Percent cheaper than in the West and of course they get to see their  Kahmann said company business has picked up tremendously since unification. A Quot last year we turned Over 3.2 billion Marks about $1.88 billion 350 million about $205 million of that was in the new Eastern states. Next year we expect to a quadruple that  a a a a a. Since unification the mail order business in Germany has been Good for All the firms in the Trade they All bus in Eastern germans. Willi Scharps spokesman for Europe a largest mail order House the Quelle company in Nurnberg said it has been busing in 1,500 Eastern germans every Day since August ,. A. Quot they come from All Over but the longest commuting. Distance is three hours for a group from the town of Jena Quot Scharps said during the Busy seasons of easter and Christmas a this Job is one of the better ways to survive a says Roland Escher who works at Neckermann. Scharps said they bus in 3,500 from the East to Cope with the business flow. Quot they re Good workers Quot to said. Quot the legend some Western germans like to spread that Eastern germans Don t know How or done to want to work is an outrage. Can you imagine that they work Here because they like Riding a. On the bus for six hours a Day Quot a a a Quelle Scharps said turned Over 12 6 billion Marks about $7.4 billion last year and a sizable piece of that Trade went to former East bloc states. A. Business is also booming for Germany s second a largest mail order House the Otto Versandi Hamburg. Johannes Merck spokesman for Otto said it has been running buses to nearby Mecklenburg in Eastern Germany since the monetary Reform in july 1990 Quot we pick up 500 every Day and it works out Fine Quot he said. A the trip takes an hour and a half. Eastern germans Are grateful they be found employment and we re very. Satisfied with . A a a Neckermann employs 5,000 people in Frankfurt 800 Are from the former East Germany. 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