President Park Geun-hye has recently asserted a need for striking a “grand bargain” on pending labor-related issues, using the tripartite consultative body of the labor, management and the government that has so far been lethargic but is slated for reform.

During a meeting with senior secretaries on Monday, Park used the phrase “grand deal” three times, citing it as a way of resolving labor matters such as employment. She also suggested that the government seek ways to activate the tripartite commission formally named the “Economic and Social Development Commission” that had been neglected during the previous Lee Myung-bak administration.

The Cabinet has already been moving under such guidelines since last month, and recently started to play up the need to discuss the contentious debate over “ordinary wage” in a similar tripartite format.

But labor unions and businesses are less than lukewarm to the idea. Moreover, pundits are questioning the sincerity or depth of Cheong Wa Dae’s approach to the decades-old tripartite gathering that has long been considered perfunctory and is criticized for failing to have any binding power in decisions or the laborers fully represented.

“It is difficult for such a body to yield promising results if it is just considered a quick-fix to address tricky issues,” said economics professor Kim Jang-ho of Sookmyung Women’s University.

He explained that for a successful great social bargain, the government must approach the tripartite format with a broader view, a new paradigm and an understanding that labor issues are deeply intertwined with other social phenomenon including welfare.

“Rather than a specific ministry being responsible for the three-way dialogue, all economy-related ministries must be involved, while the government and the ruling party must be determined to provide immediate regulatory support once a compromise is reached,” he explained.

“The government must open its eyes that a (grand) deal is only the conclusion, and that there are indirect functions of the commission along the discussion process where untapped tasks are revealed.”

The tripartite consultative body was established in 1998 as presidential advisory commission by the then-Kim Dae-jung government after the nation was hit by the foreign exchange crisis.

While the organization proved to be effective in the three sides reaching a social compromise on the laborers’ welfare system and other sensitive issues, the achievement was widely considered to have been affected by external factors that accentuated the need for their cooperation.

After the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, the more radical of the two umbrella groups, bolted from the body in 1999 after a conflict, the commission quickly lost its stand, although attempts were repeatedly made during the following Roh Moo-hyun government to bring the KCTU back and expand the body’s role.

During the Lee administration, the position of the commission further shrank, and Lee reportedly never called on the organization during his tenure.

While some observers criticize that the preparation is already belated, the Park government is currently devising reform measures for the commission to act as the channel for the “grand bargain” on such matters as reducing working hours, raising minimum wage or problems associated with irregular workers.

“While a breakthrough is hard to be reached during the mid and toward the end of an administration’s tenure, it is more so likely at the beginning of the administration,” Kim said.

To tackle Park’s pledge to raise the employment rate to 70 percent, the government also mobilized on April 29 a meeting of representatives of the three sides on the sideline to the existing tripartite committee.

One of the next issues that the government regards as most pressing is to resolve the differences over the ordinary wage.

“Once the meeting of the representatives wraps up as scheduled at the end of this month, we will be looking into how and where to hold the talks on the ordinary wage,” Kwon Young-soon, head of the Labor Policy Office of the Employment and Labor Ministry, told The Korea Herald.

Cheong Wa Dae had jumped into the ordinary pay debate, which centers around recent court rulings that quarterly paid bonuses should be counted as part of ordinary salary. Ordinary pay, used as a base to calculate overtime, nighttime, holiday pay and eventually severance packages, currently includes basic salary plus position, duty and other regular allowances. While the labor sector welcomed the recent court decision, businesses have been voicing concerns, citing increased costs. Park, during a U.S. visit earlier this month, stoked controversy by commenting that she would look into the matter when business delegates broached the subject.

Labor groups are buoyed by the court decisions, with the KCTU reportedly considering raising a class-action suit on the back of the ruling.

Cheong Wa Dae’s attempt to hype up the tripartite talks so far have had little impoct with its counterparts appearing unimpressed.

The Korea Employers Federation representing the management side reportedly expressed general agreement to talking about the ordinary wage, but is firm that it is an “all or nothing” matter that cannot be compromised on.

The Federation of Korea Trade Unions that represents the laborers’ side is equally adamant that the court rulings must be upheld.

The KCTU, meanwhile, took its turn to criticize the Cheong Wa Dae move in a press release saying, “It is an incommodious attempt to narrow the scope of the ordinary wage by using wage system reorganization as a front.”

By Lee Joo-hee (jhl@heraldcorp.com)