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In an effort to curb soaring unemployment, Spain's Socialist government announced plans to inject greater flexibility for employers into the country's traditionally strict collective bargaining process, which has resulted in higher wages even while jobs have disappeared. The announcement has spurred vocal criticism from both labor leaders and business groups, while observers fear the measure are merely cosmetic and will not actually create new jobs. Spain's largest labor unions had been negotiating with the Spanish Confederation of Employers' Organizations to ease employment terms until talks fell apart last week.