Government officials and the business community on Thursday urged an early resumption of three-way talks on labor market reform that are currently facing a boycott by the labor sector.  

The trilateral talks between the government, business and labor organizations have been stalled since April 8 when representatives from the Federation of Korean Trade Unions walked out of negotiations in opposition to proposed changes to regulations concerning layoffs.

FKTU leaders were expected to declare their return to the tripartite commission on Tuesday but were unable to do so due to strong opposition from other union members.

The FKTU is said to be the more conservative of the country's two major umbrella labor unions. The other, more radical umbrella organization is the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions.

"Ensuring flexibility in the labor market is a must for our companies to secure competitiveness in the global market and leap forward," Vice Commerce Minister Lee Kwan-sup said in a meeting with business leaders in Seoul.

"We can no longer delay the labor market reform," he added, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

A business representative asserted the negotiations should move forward with labor market reform by reflecting the opinions of other labor representatives, such as those representing part-time or irregular workers, instead of delaying the whole process until the return of the FKTU negotiators, the ministry said.

Thursday's meeting was attended by officials from the top 10 companies, including Samsung Electronics Co. and Hyundai Motors Co., as well as those from top business organizations such as the Korean Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Vice Minister Lee said the government and business leaders were doing their utmost to create more jobs, a move that can be seen in recent efforts to introduce the so-called wage peak system.

"The labor sector must look at the reality from a long-term point of view rather than being concerned about immediate gains," Lee said.

"The labor market reform is not a confrontation between the labor and management, but an attempt to have everyone give up 10 percent of their vested interests to benefit 90 percent of all laborers and job-seekers," he added. (Yonhap)