Greek Labor Minister Giorgos Katrougalos on Sunday disagreed with creditors over bailout program prerequisites regarding labor reforms.
The creditors representatives argued for the changes in labor laws that were agreed in the previous two bailout programs. The Greek side highlighted the importance of compliance to European court decisions — such as the Council of Europe, European Court, Council of State, on labor laws — and kept the stance in favor of existing laws.
Katrougalos spoke of compliance with Greek and European legislation for mass layoffs, collective bargaining, labor union laws and wages.
The discussion on labor laws will continue with the technical cadres of the two sides.
Meanwhile, the two sides agreed in principle for the creation of a legislative framework for out-of-court settlement of debts accumulated by businesses and the self-employed.
Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos and Economy Minister Giorgos Stathakis presented the main points of the proposed draft bill for deliberation. The two sides will meet again on Wednesday to discuss the issue.
The creditors’ representatives were also briefed on the draft bills to facilitate the opening of new businesses and the modernization of the supply chain.
At the same time, creditors did not back down from the 3.5% primary surplus target for the 2018 budget.
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