Greek parliament approves 15,000 civil service job cuts

The Greek parliament has passed a bill which will see 15,000 state employees lose their jobs by the end of next year.

The bill passed by 168 votes to 123, and had the support of the three parties making up the ruling coalition.

It is part of continuing moves by the centre-right government to cut costs and ensure more bailout money from international creditors.

But it was vociferously opposed by protesters outside parliament.

The new law will overturn what had been a constitutional guarantee for civil servants of a job for life, says the BBC's Mark Lowen in Athens.

The sector has been seen as notoriously bloated since it expanded in the 1970s and 1980s as successive administrations employed their own people, our correspondent adds.

Some 2,000 civil servants will lose their jobs by the end of June, another 2,000 by the end of the year, and a further 11,000 by the end of 2014.

State workers who have broken rules will be targeted for dismissal, but many are expected to be replaced by younger employees in key sectors such as health.

So the law will not slim down the public sector, our correspondent says. That would be achieved by a parallel plan that would see 150,000 state jobs go by the end of 2015, by replacing only some of those who retire.