Over the weekend mass protests took place in Spain against the government's controversial labour market reforms, which are designed to boost the economy and create more jobs in a country where unemployment is ripe and many emigrate to find work elsewhere.

According to local media reports, protests were held in over 50 cities and in the Spanish capital Madrid over 500,000 are said to have protested against the reforms which trade unions argue will encourage more temporary and part-time work instead of stable permanent employment.

The strikes do not come as a surprise as the Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy was expecting demonstrations against his labour reforms that will lift certain restrictions for temporary employment agencies, allowing temporary workers to enter the public sector in the future.  With restrictions currently in place within the public sector, Spain is not compliant with the Agency Work Directive.

However, protestors also voiced their anger at other implications of the reforms which will cut severance pay and offer employers greater flexibility over jobs. 

The slogan of the protests was "no to the labour reform that is unfair to workers, inefficient for the economy and useless for jobs," as Spain's El Pais news website reports.

Earlier this year Mr Rajoy’s government approved a law, cutting the maximum severance pay to 33 days' salary for each year worked, compared with the current 45 days while the new labour regulations will also give companies facing difficulties the option to reduce employees’ working hours.

“This labour reform is the reform that Spain needs to avoid being the country that destroys the most employment of any in Europe. It’s a reform that puts us at the same level as the most advanced countries of the EU, a reform that modernises our 30-year-old legislation and above all puts an end to the injustices and inequalities of the labour market,” Mr Rajoy said.