Spanish Labour Minister Fatima Banez defended the conservative government's labour reforms on Sunday, following a call by unions for mass protests over the measures.

"These are reforms that will increase flexibility so that, faced with difficulties, businesses can adapt to the economic reality and that layoffs be a measure of last resort," she said in an interview with the ABC magazine.

She said that "the rights of workers will remain intact" and said she hoped the reforms would put the brakes on the "haemorrhaging" labour market.

The interview came a day after Spain's two biggest unions called for nationwide protests on February 19 to protest the reforms that they say will destroy jobs.

Spain's conservative government on Friday slashed employees' maximum severance pay as part of sweeping labour reforms to confront a jobless rate of nearly 23 percent. Youth unemployment stands at nearly 50 percent.

Under the reforms, sacked employees will receive 33 days of severance pay per year worked, and only 20 days' worth in financially driven layoffs, compared with the current 45 days.

Hundreds of people protested in Madrid on Friday night against the reforms, in the latest of a string of demonstrations against austerity measures.

Unemployment has tripled since 2007, when it dropped to a low of 7.95 percent a year before a property bubble implosion that laid waste to millions of jobs in the construction sector.