Madrid, Sep 9 (EFE).- The lower house of Spain's Parliament gave final approval Thursday to a controversial labor-law overhaul that the government hopes will reduce an unemployment rate of more than 20 percent.
No other party joined the governing Socialists in voting for the final version of the bill.
Passage of the initiative comes amid preparations by Spain's two major union federations for a Sept. 29 general strike to protest the overhaul, which opponents say will diminish workers' rights without spurring job creation, as well as the government's broader austerity moves.
Organized labor particularly objects to a clause allowing firms to justify layoffs based on projected future losses.
Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero's government is aiming to foster an expansion of employment and a reversal of the trend away from permanent positions to temporary ones.
The coming general strike will be Spain's first since Zapatero took office in April 2004, ending eight years of rule by the conservative Popular Party.
The Spanish business sector has long sought an overhaul of labor law and pressure for change increased this year after the Greek debt crisis, which spotlighted the perceived vulnerability of Spain and other countries with high budget deficits.
