By Windsor Genova

Madrid, Spain

Spain's labor strike on drew tens of thousands of people who marched through streets in major cities to protest the government's austerity program. Demonstrators clashed with police, resulting in injuries to nine people and the arrest of 58 others, according to the Interior Ministry.

Police fired rubber bullets on strikers who broke shop windows and set bins on fire in Barcelona. A Starbucks café and another shop in the city were looted and set ablaze. Police said 80,000 people joined the demonstration; strikers put the number at 800,000.

In a Madrid bus depot, police broke up a blockade by 100 protesters as an estimated 900,000 strikers marched to the central Puerta del Sol square.

About 600 flights of Iberia, Air Nostrum and Vueling airlines were canceled in Spanish airports. Local train and bus service were minimal.

The General Workers Union (UGT), one of the largest trade unions in Spain, claimed that it stopped work at auto factories, ports, and post offices. Workers at Renault, Seat, Volkswagen and Ford car factories joined the strike, according to the union.

The UGT also said it stopped garbage collection and disrupted food markets operation and supply to supermarkets.

Regional TV stations in the southern region of Andalusia, northeastern region of Catalonia and Madrid did not go on air.

The general strike was called to oppose Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy's new labor laws that aim to cut the 23 percent unemployment rate, the highest in the European Union. Among the labor reforms were lowering of severance pay for laid-off workers.

Unions also oppose Rajoy's 2012 budget, tax increases and a second package of austerity measures.

World - Police, Protesters Clash in Spanish General Strike | Global Viewpoint