Political parties agreed Tuesday to pass a controversial bill adopting a five-day workweek by Aug. 20th at the latest.

Rep. Song Hun-suk, head of the parliamentary committee on environment and labor affairs, said the parties have been told to submit their proposals by Aug. 18th, and the finalized bill will be voted upon at a plenary session within the following two days.

Deadline pressures grew as union, management and government representatives were meeting to compromise on pay and holidays should a shorter workweek be implemented.

The tripartite negotiations must conclude by Thursday, and if the talks fail, the parliament will draw up a bill on its own to meet the Aug. 20th deadline.

Negotiations are likely to be a thorny matter because of wide differences between the union and the management.