Spain to vote on labor market reforms

[September 09, 2010]  MADRID (AP) -- Spain's Parliament is putting the finishing touches to reforms aimed at boosting a listless economy by shaking up a rigid job market and encouraging companies to hire.

The plan was first approved as a decree in June and been amended by both chambers of Parliament since then. A definitive vote in the lower chamber is scheduled for Thursday.

Unions call the reforms by a Socialist government blatantly pro-business. They have cited the changes as one of their reasons for calling a general strike on Sept. 29.

Spain has a jobless rate of 20 percent, the highest in the euro zone. One key thrust of the reforms is to make employers less wary of hiring by making it cheaper and easier for them to lay people off.

[Associated Press]

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