Greek protesters continued their blockade of various ministries for the second day Friday, preventing international auditors from reviewing a government cost-cutting programme.
Inspectors from the European Union, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the European Central Bank, known as the troika, have been in Athens since Thursday.
But their work has been hampered by the protesters, with the team unable to enter the buildings they were expected to visit, namely the Finance Ministry and the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT).
“We are here because of the drastic cut to our salaries - my salary alone has been cut by 600 euros (810 dollars) and now I earn 1,200 euros,” Giorgos Bentaris, who is among the 120 protesters at the Finance Ministry told the German Press Agency dpa.
“My mortgage alone is 600 euros and I have a son who is studying in another city so I have to pay his rent and send him money every month -after that there is very little on to survive,” he said.
Officials had also been expected to meet with Transport Minister Yannis Ragousis at his office, but dozens of anti-austerity protesters picketed the building and prevented them from entering.
Reports said many of the meetings were relocated.
The troika will evaluate whether Greece's belt-tightening measures are enough to give the green light for the release of a sixth tranche of bailout loans to avert default.
The Greek daily Kathimerini newspaper said Greece intended to save 1 billion euros a year by reducing the salaries of some 100,000 of its civil servants by as much as 40 per cent, according to plans the government is discussing with representatives from the EU and IMF.
The government recently announced a series of additional austerity measures, including pension cut and extra taxes, including a new property tax.
The EU/IMF and ECB inspectors left Greece suddenly on September 2, saying the government had been slow in jump-starting reforms and had missed targets agreed last year under a 110-billion-euro bailout deal.
The auditors' report will be used by the EU, the ECB and the IMF to decide whether Greece can receive 8 billion euros, money it needs by mid-October to avoid bankruptcy.
The European Union on Friday said international auditors hoped to complete their monitoring by Monday.
Meanwhile, the government has resorted to withholding the salaries of state employees who have outstanding tax debts, provided their monthly salary exceeds 1,000 euros.
Greeks have been outraged by the announcement of new austerity measures and have held months of repeated strikes and demonstrations.
The two main labour unions - the civil servants' union ADEDY and the General Confederation of Greek Labor - have called two 24-hour nationwide strikes for October 5 and 19 to protest the government's austerity drive. - Sapa-dpa