An International Monetary Fund (IMF) official on Thursday clarified that the organisation has not recommended the abolition of the so-called "13th" and "14th" salaries in Greece's private sector.

IMF foreign relations director Caroline Atkinson said such a proposal was not included in the programme agreed to with the Greek government in order to activate a eurozone-IMF support mechanism.

Nevertheless, Atkinson reiterated that the IMF believes there is an issue of the Greek economy's competitiveness, something that Athens is dealing with, namely, by abolishing various restrictions on the operation of free trade in the country and opening up so-called "closed professions".

In conclusion, she said the significance lies in Greece combatting the twin spectre of low competitiveness and high public debt, something that recently enacted measures aim to address and rectify.