Wage cuts on the table at PM’s office

The representatives of the country’s official creditors were locked until late on Saturday in talks at the Prime Minister’s office in Athens as the countdown until Sunday night, the deadline for a deal on the second bailout package for Greece, is close to ending. The mission from the European Central Bank, the European Commission and the International Monetary Fund, known as the troika, were in negotiations with Prime Minister Lucas Papademos, Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos and Labor Minister Giorgos Koutroumanis. Government spokesman Pantelis Kapsis stated earlier in the day that the troika is intransigent regarding the wage cuts in the private sector. At stake are the Christmas, Easter and vacation bonuses, known in Greece as the 13th and 14th salaries, the supplementary pensions as well as the level of the minimum wage.