The tripartite committee’s agreement on labor reform is certainly welcome, but it does not mean that all hurdles have been cleared. Rather, it put all the concerned parties — government, political parties, unions and employers — on the starting line for real work.

The disruption of a meeting of the central executive council of the Federation of Korean Trade Unions, called Monday to endorse the tripartite panel’s agreement, manifests the rough road lying ahead for the reform work. A union leader even attempted to set himself on fire before the council approved the agreement.

Nevertheless, it is fortunate that the tripartite panel averted the worst situation by reaching a compromise in the 11th hour. Had they passed the deadline, the government would have been forced to push for unilateral action as it had pledged to do.

That would have drawn immensely fierce protests from labor groups, touching off a fresh social and economic crisis at a time when the Korean economy is struggling with low growth and a slump in domestic consumption. Moreover, unions of some big companies have already started staging or threatening strikes.

The tripartite panel’s agreement was made after the participants narrowed their differences on key issues, especially the proposal to allow employers to dismiss negligent or underperforming workers and ease restrictions on the revision of rules of employment.

The latter proposal paved the way for instituting the wage peak system, which would help employers to recruit more youths. Other highlights of the agreement include expansion of the social safety net for the unemployed, shifting the focus of the pay system more on performance than seniority, reduction of workweek and introduction of flexible working hours.

Despite these and other achievements, the agreement is far from complete. Skeptics charge that the agreement is half-made, pointing out that it left details of some core issues — like the proposals to change the rules on dismissals and rules of employment — to further discussions among the concerned parties.

The deal’s harshest critics even refuse to call the agreement a “grand compromise.” They say it is a mere temporary agreement made for the sake of an agreement. In other words, they say, the government and unions simply deferred decisions on the most contentious issues.

As expected, the agreement is encountering strong protests from some members of the FKTU and another umbrella group which even refused to be part of the negotiations — the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions. The KCTU has already called for a general strike in November.

The reform proposals will also face a tough legislative review by the National Assembly, where the opposition has a strong presence, especially in the Labor Committee. The ruling party, which plans to submit revision bills to five labor-related laws under the tripartite committee’s agreement, must brace for an uphill battle.

Despite all these and other concerns, the agreement of the tripartite committee must be upheld and followed up without a hitch.

The legal retirement age will be extended to 60 in three months. This alone necessitates the importance of following up on the agreement faithfully and swiftly.