Athens , Greece ( CNN ) -- Greece 's Prime Minister George Papandreou announced Wednesday that a government reshuffle will take place Thursday , after which he will seek a vote of confidence in parliament . The planned reshuffle represents an attempt to win support for additional austerity measures intended to help the economy weather the current crisis , measures that sparked debate Wednesday in parliament as demonstrators protested outside . Papandreou faces strong opposition from his own party over the measures , with one member of parliament defecting and another saying that he would vote for them . After Papandreou 's announcement of the reshuffle in a brief televised statement , the main opposition called for an early election . The Greek parliament has opened debate on the austerity measures , seen by some economists as essential to Greece 's meeting the terms of its international creditors . Papandreou said the formation of a unity government requires agreement from all opposition parties on the cuts and privatizations agreed to in an international bailout Greece undertook slightly more than a year ago . Papandreou 's reshuffle comes amid mounting opposition and the defection of one of his party 's parliament members over the austerity program . The main opposition party , New Democracy , has repeatedly demanded that Papandreou quit and that a cross-party coalition renegotiate the terms of the bailout package . The government 's popularity has plunged recently , and anti-government protests turned violent Wednesday , as demonstrators threw gasoline bombs at the Ministry of Finance and police fired tear gas at protesters , police said . Tens of thousands of protesters had vowed to form a human shield around the parliament to prevent lawmakers from debating new austerity measures Wednesday afternoon . `` This is a joke . It is all a joke , '' protester Christos Miliadakis , 35 , said of the government plans . `` When will we be able to get out of this vicious circle ? My wife lost her job . I had a 12 % pay cut as a result of the first bailout . The new measures want to cut another 20 % of jobs in the public sector , '' he said . `` So if no one has money and we are just more in debt , who is going to drive the economy ? We will live like slaves paying all our lives . '' Architecture student Maria Iliadi , 23 , said that , for people like her , `` the future in this country has been erased . There will be no big public projects , and no one will be building for a long time . Sometimes , finishing my degree seems totally pointless . '' About 25,000 demonstrators were on the streets of the capital by the middle of the day , police said . Two police officers and four civilians were slightly injured , and 12 people were arrested , they said . Labor unions were holding a 24-hour strike to protest the measures and planned to march to Parliament to join forces with the protesters . The strike has brought public services to a grinding halt and kept most transport networks at a standstill , although flights have not been affected . Rallies also were scheduled to take place in other Greek cities . On June 9 , the Cabinet approved a tough five-year plan for 2011-15 and introduced a bill in Parliament to put the measures into effect . The government has said that the passage of these additional measures is essential to Greece 's securing the fifth portion of a 110 billion euro ( $ 158 billion ) bailout package that Greece signed with the European Union and the International Monetary Fund to prevent the country from defaulting on its debts . Greek Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou has said the country hopes to secure a second bailout deal this month . The search for a second bailout comes after it became evident that Greece is extremely unlikely to raise capital from private markets in 2012 due to the prohibitively high interest rates it would face . Papaconstantinou has also indicated that European Union members may support calls to get the private sector involved . Despite the harsh austerity measures that the Greek government has imposed , it is failing to close its budget deficit as quickly as many had hoped . The country is in recession amid its fiscal restructuring program . The finance minister has defended the five-year austerity plan , saying it is needed to keep Greece solvent . The new measures will include a number of additional taxes and an additional 20 % cut in public-sector jobs . Protesters have been gathering outside Parliament for more than three weeks as part of an ongoing peaceful demonstration against austerity measures , with some camping in the square facing Parliament . They call themselves `` The Indignants , '' a grass-roots movement that takes its name from the Spanish campaign of `` Los Indignados , '' who have been holding similar mobilizations against austerity across Spain . The Indignants issued a statement saying it would keep going until the politicians and technocrats it blames for what is happening in Greece `` go away . '' The credit rating agency Standard & Poor 's on Monday cut Greece 's rating to just two notches above default , among the lowest in the world . The agency has said a default on some debt appears `` increasingly likely . '' Unemployment in Greece skyrocketed to more than 16 % in May , a 40 % rise since last year . The European Commission has said Greece 's economy was expected to shrink by 3.5 % this year . Papandreou has pledged to continue with the changes no matter the political cost . He has said that the alternative , a default , `` would be a catastrophe . '' The five-year austerity plan is expected to face a vote in Parliament in before the end of the month .
Prime Minister George Papandreou will seek a vote of confidence Thursday . At least 25,000 turn out to keep lawmakers from debating budget-cutting measures . The protests against the austerity turn violent , with gasoline bombs and tear gas . Greece is getting international help to deal with its budget deficit .