Spanish unions call March 29 general strike

MADRID, March 9 (Reuters) - Spanish unions voted for a March 29 general strike on Friday after failing to reach a compromise with the government on a labour reform which makes it easier to fire workers and more difficult to implement inflation-linked salary hikes.

The reform is part of the centre-right government's measures to breathe life back into an economy that is probably already in recession and to encourage hiring in a country with an unemployment rate of 23 percent.