Spanish strike embarrasses Aznar

Spanish union leaders hailed yesterday's general strike against employment reforms as a massive success, claiming 84 per cent backing.

Tourists were stranded by a reduction of two-thirds in flights, long-distance travel was virtually suspended and hotel, restaurant and taxi services cut. A third of Costa del Sol hotel staff stayed at home and beach restaurants kept their shutters down. Car factories lay silent, and many shops and banks closed.

The first industrial action for eight years was mostly peaceful, apart from isolated scuffles with police. The main union rally took place in Seville. Candido Mendez, leader of the left-leaning General Workers' Union (UGT), said: "We can say there has been a massive work stoppage in protest at the government's decree. They must now reconsider, and heed our legitimate demands."

The government none the less insisted that support for the strike was "very slight" – less than 35 per cent. The Economy minister, Rodrigo Rato, said: "There has been no generalised stoppage."

However, statistics confirmed that electricity use had plunged by nearly a quarter from 9am, and activity in the streets appeared to be more somnolent than a Sunday in August. Television showed usually bustling railway terminals deserted.

Mr Mendez and the pro-Communist Workers' Commissions leader, Jose Maria Fidalgo, led 100,000 good- humoured protesters in Seville, the heart of the region with Spain's highest unemployment and the venue for the EU summit that opens today. Police said 9,300 marched.

The strike delayed the arrival of European Union leaders, who were due early today, and the start of proceedings. The timing of the strike has been acutely embarrassing to Spain's Prime Minister, Jose Maria Aznar, for whom the Seville summit was to crown Spain's six-month European presidency.

There were a few clashes, notably outside the UGT headquarters in Madrid when police baton-charged pickets, accusing them of obstructing the street. Police arrested 31 strikers, including two accused of sticking nails into glued locks to stop people entering the workplace. The unions said several of their members had been injured in the clashes.

Two-thirds of more than a thousand arrivals and departures at Madrid airport were cancelled, among them many from Britain and Germany. The national carrier Iberia ran only 20 per cent of its flights.