Spanish Trade Unions Start General Strike MADRID - Heavy industry and large parts of the transport network were disrupted on Thursday by Spain's first general strike since the Popular Party of Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy came to power late last year. The strike was called by Spain's two main trade unions to protest a recent overhaul of labor rules that makes it cheaper for employers to hire and fire workers. It came on the eve of Mr. Rajoy's presentation of Spain's 2012 budget, which is expected to contain about $26 billion in additional spending cuts and tax increases to help Spain meet deficit targets it agreed to with the European Commission. Spain is entering its second recession in three years with 5.3 million people, almost 23 percent of the workforce, unemployed - more than double the European average. However, support for trade unions has dwindled in recent years, both because of their failure to prevent the surge in unemployment and controversy surrounding the unions" reliance on government subsidies rather than contributions from members. Police officials said that around 58 people had been arrested and nine slightly injured early on Thursday during scuffles on picket lines but the Interior Ministry said that the strike had so far not caused any major disturbances. Red Eléctrica, the operator of the national electricity grid, said that consumption was down 25 percent at 9 a.m. Most banks and leading retailers like El Corte Inglés stayed opened for business. While some flights were canceled, Madrid's airport was also functioning Thursday. The largest protests in Madrid were scheduled for late afternoon, including a march that is due to end in Puerta del Sol the downtown square that was the scene last year of a lengthy, student-led protest against established political parties and other institutions because of their failure to prevent the economic crisis from deepening. Francisco Pérez, a former union representative who recently retired after three decades in the administration of Madrid's airport, called the strike a "useless response to the problems that Spain is facing." What is the point of a strike before even knowing what kind of budget this new government has put together and when unions have presented no alternative proposal to create jobs? Mr. Pérez asked. The union leaders are nowadays clueless because they prefer to sit on the board of a bank than work alongside those they should be representing. Mr. Pérez was referring to a recent controversy surrounding José Ricardo Martinez, a former railroad technician and secretary general of the UGT union in Madrid, who has been receiving almost $240,000 a year as a board member of Bankia, a savings bank.