Greek talks on fresh bailout deal postponed to Tuesday

Critical talks scheduled for Monday afternoon on a second bailout package between Greece and international creditors have been postponed to Tuesday.According to announcement by the office of Prime Minister Lucas Papademos, the leaders of the three parties backing the transitional administration have agreed on the outline of new austerity measures requested by lenders, but some details are yet to be hammered out.According to local media citing sources from all sides, the leaders have agreed to lower labor costs in the private sector and further slash the numbers of civil servants, but oppose disproportionate cuts that will deteriorate recession.Leftist parties and labor unions reacted to the developments calling for a new round of strikes and rallies this week.Heavy rainfall dispersed the crowds that had gathered in central Athens to denounce further belt-tightening policies on Monday. A 24-hour nationwide general strike and a new demonstration in front of the parliament, organized by the umbrella unions of public and private sector employees, will follow on Tuesday.A deal on the new rescue loans package, the second for Greece since May 2010, and a parallel agreement to ease the debt burden through a voluntary writedown of multi-billion euro Greek state bonds owned by private creditors, are vital to the country ahead repayment due on March 20.