Madrid metro workers on strike

Workers on the Spanish underground rail system in Madrid began a three-day strike on Monday to protest against wage cuts which form part of the government's austerity plan to cut its massive budget deficit.

Spain's Socialists aim to save 15 billion euros by, amongst other moves, slashing civil servants' pay by 5 per cent.

While the measures were not originally aimed at public company workers such as transport, Madrid's regional government extended the salary reductions to the metro employees.

The move prompted five unions to call the strike which will reduce train service by more than half on Monday and affect an estimated 2 million commuters in the capital.

The industrial action follows strikes by civil servant on June 8 against the pay cuts and comes ahead of a general strike planned for the end of September to protest the government's labour market reform which unions say makes firing workers cheaper.

The government passed the reform on June 22 to streamline a rigid jobs market which has left more than one in five workers unemployed and to convince investors it is capable of passing unpopular reforms to improve economic expectations.