Greece's coalition government has agreed to demands to cut civil service jobs, announcing 15,000 positions would go this year, amid mounting international pressure to agree on austerity measures needed to secure major new debt agreements.

The announcement on Monday signals a major shift in Greece's policy, as state jobs have so far been protected during the country's acute financial crisis, which started about two years ago.

Dimitris Reppas, Greece's minister for public-sector reform, said the job cuts would be carried out under a new law that allows such firings.

Al Jazeera's John Psaropoulos, reporting from Athens, said the reduction in state workers may be only the beginning of job losses.

"[The cuts] are coming as part of a commitment to fire 150,000 public service workers... This is in addition to 200,000 public service employees who have left through [negotiated] dismissal, early retirement and firing," he said.

Greece is racing to push through painful reforms and clinch a $170bn bailout deal from its European partners and the International Monetary Fund to avoid a March default on its bond payments.