Spain passes landmark labor reform, unlocking EU billions

MADRID (AP) — The Spanish parliament has ratified by a single, mistaken vote a landmark labor reform devised by the country’s Socialist-led coalition government. At the end of a messy ballot, the main party in the conservative opposition said that one of its deputies had erroneously voted in favor of the reform. Nine smaller parties joined the Socialist party and its junior coalition partner Unidas Podemos (United We Can) to vote in favor of the law passed by the Cabinet at the end of December. The government negotiated the law with trade unions and employers, who both backed it. Its approval enables the eurozone’s fourth-largest economy to collect its next installment of pandemic recovery funds.