ATHENS -- Greece's Parliament has approved an emergency omnibus bill that will ensure continued bailout funding by the country's creditors and pave the way for public sector layoffs.

The bill, which passed in a by 168-123 vote Sunday night, paves the way for the first civil service layoffs in more than a century. About 2,000 civil servants will be laid off by the end of May, with another 2,000 following by the end of the year and a further 11,500 by end-2014, for a total of 15,500.