SK Hynix Management and Union to Hold Final Negotiations on Wage and Collective Agreement Today

Management and the labor union of SK Hynix are set to hold a representative negotiation session today (August 18) at the Icheon Campus for a final attempt to reach an agreement on this year's wage and collective bargaining.

Following their sixth relay negotiation on August 12, SK Hynix management and labor held marathon negotiations from August 15 through August 17, covering the Liberation Day holiday, to intensively discuss key issues.

The union shared the negotiation progress with its members the previous day, stating, "While some general legal reviews and detailed working-level examinations remain, we have achieved a significant meeting of minds on major agenda items," adding, "We judge that we have crossed the ninth ridge of negotiations."

The SK Hynix labor and management have been locked in negotiations regarding wage increases and performance-based bonus payment methods for this year's collective agreement.

The two sides previously showed differences over measures such as adjusting wages in the event of a deficit, but have since narrowed their gaps by revising the relevant proposals during the negotiation process.

The method of paying performance bonuses is also a major issue.

SK Hynix management and labor previously agreed to abolish the cap on the Profit Sharing (PS)—which is funded by 10 percent of operating profit from the previous year—and maintain that system for 10 years.

The core of the system is that 80 percent of the PS payment is made in cash within the current year, while the remaining 20 percent is deferred and paid over two years.

However, it is reported that management proposed changing the performance bonus system during this year's negotiations to pay a significant portion of performance bonuses in company shares, with restrictions on selling them for a certain period.

In response, among employees, concerns are growing that paying performance bonuses in stock could cause the actual compensation scale to fluctuate depending on stock price movements, alongside backlash against putting the previously agreed-upon performance bonus system back on the negotiating table.

Additionally, with the launch of a unified labor union encompassing both general employees (production roles) and technical office workers, separate from the existing union, concerns have been raised that this year's wage and collective agreement negotiations could be prolonged.

The number of members in the unified union, which was launched on August 13, is currently nearing the 3,000 mark.

If the final agreement includes a plan to pay a substantial portion of performance bonuses in company shares, employee backlash is expected to remain a variable.

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.