Greek government officials spent a second day in talks with the Troika representatives in Paris yesterday. Greece’s foreign creditors were pressing for changes to make it harder for labor unions to call strikes and the introduction of legislation facilitating mass layoffs in the private sector. According to government sources, the Greek side tabled the issues that should be proceeded and on its part, the Troika reserved to present its positions on today’s meetings. The Labor Ministry is to prepare several studies in the coming weeks, before Troika envoys are due to arrive in Athens for their next review, in a bid to overcome the insistence of foreign creditors on the proposed changes. The Ministry managed to win itself some time by invoking the International Labor Organization to assess the effectiveness of potential changes to current laws governing layoffs in the private sector. The Troika intends to ask for the removal of any political involvement in decisions relating to mass layoffs and introducing greater flexibility into the private labor market. They argue that such action will contribute toward curbing unemployment, which continues to hover at around 27%. Other issues on the table are an ongoing streamlining of the civil service and the second phase of reforms on the pension system.
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