Skourletis

PM Alexis Tsipras announced a Greek government reshuffle on Friday afternoon, expected since an earlier vote in Parliament this week, replacing “dissident” minister Panagiotis Lafazanis with MP Panos Skourletis at the production reconstruction ministry.

Some leftist SYRIZA deputies were inside the Parliament plenary session during debate on Saturday over a snap referendum called by PM Alexis Tsipras hours earlier, yet at least another two or more were … outside, standing in line at an ATM waiting to withdraw cash!

Labor Minister Panos Skourletis told private MEGA TV on Friday that the creditors’ stance is a call for the people’s suicide.

By George Georgiopoulos & Renee Maltezou

Greece's ruling Syriza party dismissed reform demands from the country's international creditors as "blackmail" on Thursday as crisis talks to avert a debt default and a eurozone exit entered a critical phase.

Greek Labor Minister Panos Skourletis said on Tuesday that Athens could not make more concessions in negotiations for a cash-for-reforms deal and its international lenders must assume their responsibilities.

"There is no room for more compromises. We are waiting for the other side to assume its responsibilities,» Skourletis told Greece's Skai TV.

Government officials indicated on Monday that the thorny issue of pension reform, one of Greece?s key ?red lines? in negotiations with creditors, would be put off until the fall after a series of statements by prominent SYRIZA officials suggested the government had backed down on pre-election pledges to protect pensions.

Greece intends to meet debt payments this month and reach a deal with its international lenders to unlock remaining bailout aid but the International Monetary Fund insists on tough labor reforms, the country's labor minister said on Monday.

In a message on his Twitter account marking Labor Day, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras highlighted the importance of efforts to protect workers rights while several of his ministers emphasized that Greece would stick to its so-called red lines in talks with international creditors.

A police operation on Friday to eject 14 protesters from Athens University?s central campus after a 19-day sit-in deepened fissures between the hard core and moderate elements of the leftist-led government.

Representatives of Greece's international creditors and government officials are meeting on Wednesday at the Ministry of Labor.

Labor Minister Panos Skourletis said that the main points of the meeting include a focus on collective bargaining and a focus on the return of the minimum wage.