国际英语新闻：Greek PM calls for national consensus on austerity measures, reforms

Also on Tuesday, Greek legislators will debate a draft bill which envisions changes in labor contracts and a 10-percent cutbacks on monthly salaries of those who earn more than 1,800 euros (2,383 U.S. dollars) at loss-making state enterprises.

The changes in labor contracts would allow employers of ailing companies to sidestep collective wage agreements and reach alternative agreements with the personnel.

The new draft bill has been backed by the EU-IMF experts, who have been monitoring since May the progress of the Greek government's policies to reduce budget deficit and boost competitiveness.

However, the opposition parties and labor unions opposed some of the measures, accusing the government of adding more burdens to employees.

"We have one choice ahead of us -- we will either guarantee job positions, or let enterprises close down and proceed to mass lay-offs," said Papandreou, defending the bill in the parliament debate on Friday.

According to the latest official figures of the Greek statistical authorities this week, the unemployment rate reached 12.6 percent in September, showing an upward trend.

Speaking at an event a few hours later, Papandreou stressed that structural reforms in the labor market will boost growth, repeating that the focus in the following months will be on structural reforms, not just fiscal discipline.