In January 2012, Papademos warned that workers would have to accept substantial cuts in their income in order for a default to be avoided. He also told business and union leaders that the "troika" — the European Union, the International Monetary Fund and the ECB — was looking for Greece to take steps to open up so-called closed professions, as well as adjustments to the minimum wage, abolition of Christmas and summer vacation bonuses and automatic wage increases. Papademos also declared in January that his provisional government would last until at least April, instead of February as was originally planned, so that further austerity measures could be implemented before an election.