More than Three-hundred trains have been cancelled on Thursday throughout Spain as workers go on strike to defend women's rights on International Women's Day.

The strike has been the subject of much debate in Spain over the past weeks and many famous women have thrown their weight behind the stoppage.

The 24-hour strike has been called by 10 unions in Spain. 

The underground in Madrid will also be affected.

Meanwhile, The ruling centre-right party, the Partido Popular (PP), said the action was "for feminists and not real women with everyday problems".

But Spain's two main unions -- the CCOO and UGT -- have called their members to stop work for two hours on Thursday.

Spanish star Penelope Cruz, for instance, has cancelled events she had planned and will also go on "domestic" strike.

 

A poll of 1,500 people, quoted in the daily newspaper El País, suggested 82% supported the strike while 76% thought women in Spain had harder lives than men.

In Spain, women were paid 13% and 19% less than their male counterparts in the public and private sectors respectively, data from the European Union's statistical provider Eurostat said.

In 2016, women's gross hourly earnings in the European Union were on average 16.2 % below those of men.