MPs vote on growth bill after tense exchanges

MPs were poised on Thursrday to approve the government's growth bill, which aims to lift obstacles to investment amid protests by workers who fear that the reforms will undermine labor rights.

The vote took place following a tense debate in the House during which opposition leaders took turns in condemning the legislation while a succession of ministers sought to defend it.

Denouncing the bill as the product of "an extremely neoliberal philosophy that goes against the interests of workers and the people," leftist SYRIZA leader Alexis Tsipras accused the government of seeking to "trample on workers' rights" and to serve its "friends and interests."

Interior Minister Takis Theodorikakos challenged Tsipras to name the entrepreneurs or "friends" that the administration is ostensibly favoring, but got no response.

The leader of the center-left Movement for...