Tripartite committee agrees on labor reform

SEOUL, Sept. 13 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's labor, management and government representatives on Sunday agreed to ease labor restrictions after months of tense negotiations. Under the agreement, labor and management would consult experts on ways to overhaul employment contracts, the tripartite committee said. The committee is comprised of a representative each from the Federation of Korea Trade Unions (FKTU), the Korea Employers' Federation and the Ministry of Employment and Labor. Until then, laws and legal precedents would decide the conditions in which employers are granted freedom to dismiss workers or change the terms of contracts. Labor and management would also carry out surveys to better understand the extent to which non-regular workers are used and consult experts on ways to improve their work conditions. Businesses that employ young workers would receive some form of government support, and any money saved from adopting the wage-peak system would go toward hiring more young people. The agreement also prevents the government from pursuing a unilateral reform measure as it said it would on Friday. The deal came at the eleventh hour after the committee failed to meet Thursday's deadline. The agreement requires an approval from the FKTU's central executive committee by Monday to fully take effect. Cheong Wa Dae welcomed the news since easing labor regulations has been one of President Park Geun-hye's top priority goals for the second half of her presidency. "We welcome the judicious decision made by the tripartite committee, which would create jobs for the people, especially the young," a key Cheong Wa Dae official said. The ruling Saenuri Party was also hopeful, with spokesman Lee Jang-woo calling the agreement "belated but extremely fortuitous." Lee called on the National Assembly and the government to speed up the process to enact the deal. The main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy, meanwhile, was more cautious, saying there is still a long way to go to bring the agreement to fruition. "It laid the groundwork, but still has a ways to go," spokesman Kim Young-rok said. "It's extremely regretful that measures to protect temporary workers and reduce the work hours were left on the back burner." Management and the government have argued easing rules on layoffs and changes in employment contracts are vital for economic recovery. The labor side has disagreed, saying such reforms would jeopardize job stability. sojungpark@yna.co.kr (END)