South Korea's major umbrella labor union said Monday it would declare the breakdown of trilateral talks on labor reform next week if the government sticks to the current policy.

The Park Geun-hye administration is pushing for two labor-management guidelines intended to make the labor market more flexible and help revitalize the economy.

Employers will be allowed to dismiss workers deemed negligent or performing poorly and firms will be able to change employment rules more easily. 

It's a follow-up measure to the "grand compromise" at tripartite talks in September among the labor, the management and the government.

They agreed on the need for mid- to long-term legislation on improving the country's labor market.

They also agreed to set relevant guidelines through "sufficient consultations" between the labor and the management to prevent disputes until the legislation is introduced.

The Federation of Korean Trade Unions, a participant in the trilateral committee that negotiated the September deal, claims the conservative Park government has drawn up the guidelines unilaterally.

It held a leadership meeting earlier in the day and concluded that the September agreement was nullified, holding the government and the ruling Saenuri Party responsible for the failure.

The FKTU, however, delayed a formal announcement till next Tuesday, calling on the government to reconsider the guidelines.

Chances are high that the FKTU will withdraw from the committee and declare the trilateral compromise null and void, as the government is unlikely to accept its demand.

The Labor Ministry said in a statement that the September compromise can't be broken unilaterally by a single party.

It vowed to press ahead with labor reform measures. (Yonhap)