The Argentine government has unveiled a plan aimed at rescuing the country's devastated economy and ending four years of recession.

Economy Minister Jorge Remes Lenicov said Sunday the plan includes moving to a freely-floating peso and partially easing unpopular banking restrictions.

Mr. Remes Lenicov said accounts in U.S. dollars will be converted to pesos but that workers will have full access to their salary accounts. Previously, account holders were limited to withdrawing 15-hundred pesos per month.

Argentine banks remain closed Monday and Tuesday for implementation of the reforms.

Mr. Remes Lenicov said he will present an austere 2002 budget to Congress Tuesday.

Declaring Argentina broke, he said decisive steps are needed to avoid all-out collapse. He added the new economic plan is aimed at reviving industrial production and consumer spending.

The austerity measures come after the Argentine Supreme Court ruled the highly unpopular banking freeze unconstitutional on Friday.

President Eduardo Duhalde has criticized the high court ruling, saying it was politically motivated and came just 48 hours after Congress launched a probe into alleged corruption among the justices.

Argentina is struggling with double-digit unemployment and seeks between $15 to $20 billion in aid from the International Monetary Fund to help rescue the economy. IMF officials say Argentina must develop a plan for sustainable economic growth as a pre-condition for aid.

The IMF withheld a $1.2 billion loan payment to Argentina in December, saying the government had failed to keep spending under control.

Some information for this report provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.

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