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Athens - Greek state doctors and nurses went on nationwide strike Thursday against an austerity plan to cut staff and wages.
The strike, which also involves other medical staff and ambulance services, comes as international creditors hold a fifth, and what the government hopes is a final, review of Athens' progress on economic reform.
The talks with creditors are expected to focus on the country's 2015 budget, namely the size of Greece's primary surplus and possible measures to plug the gap, as Athens insists it is ready to make an early exit from its current bailout programme.
Nearly five years after it was awarded its first of two bailouts, Athens is keen to avoid a third, insisting it can meet its funding needs by tapping international markets.
Negotiations are also expected to include the government's long-overdue efforts to down-size the bloated public sector as well as efforts to push ahead with a controversial overhaul of the pension system.
Greece has received about $303bn in bailout aid since 2010. In exchange, Greeks have had to endure repeated tax hikes as well as pension and salary cuts.
Prime Minister Antonis Samaras faces renewed domestic political pressure over the ongoing austerity.
His ruling conservative coalition government trails the main opposition Syriza party in opinion polls and could face early elections in March if it fails to gather the necessary support from parliament to elect a new president.
On Wednesday, the government announced its intention to seek a vote of confidence in parliament next week, a response to growing calls from the opposition for snap elections.
