"Keep the bonus promise"... SK hynix moves to launch integrated labor union

[Financial News]  As tensions grow over the bonus system amid the semiconductor boom, SK hynix is reportedly pushing to establish an integrated labor union that would bring together production workers and technical office staff.

The move comes as the company seeks to revise its bonus system, the government plans to adjust the profit-linked bonus framework, and some employees voice dissatisfaction with the existing unions. Together, these factors are fueling calls for a new union.

Yonhap News Agency reported on the 9th that SK hynix employees recently formed a preparatory group for the integrated union and have since begun the formal process of establishing it.
More than 3,500 people, or about 10% of SK hynix's roughly 35,000 employees, joined the preparatory group within three days of its launch on the 5th. Some employees are also reportedly leaving existing unions to join the integrated union.
The interim chair of the committee promoting the integrated union said in a notice on the 8th, "We have submitted the application to establish the union," adding, "A formal union is expected to launch as early as next week."
SK hynix currently operates under a multiple-union system, with a technical office workers' union affiliated with the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) and a production workers' union at the Icheon Plant and Cheongju Campus affiliated with the Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU) separately negotiating wages and collective bargaining agreements. If the integrated union is launched, it is expected to consolidate the fragmented bargaining channels and strengthen negotiating power.
The main driver behind the push for the integrated union is the conflict over bonuses.
The interim chair said, "Our top priority in launching the integrated union is to keep the bonus payment promise agreed upon last year," adding, "We will push the company to withdraw its proposed bonus negotiation plan and separate the bonus issue from wage and collective bargaining talks so it will not be subject to negotiation for the next 10 years."
Last year, SK hynix and its labor unions agreed to abolish the cap on Profit Sharing (PS), funded by 10% of operating profit, and to keep the system in place for 10 years. Under the agreement, 80% of the payout is paid in cash, while the remaining 20% is paid over two years.
However, the company is said to have proposed in this year's talks that part of the bonus be paid in company stock, with sales restricted for a certain period.
Employees say stock-based payouts could make the actual value of compensation fluctuate with share prices, and that putting the bonus system back on the negotiating table after last year's hard-won agreement amounts to breaking a promise.
Discontent with the existing unions is also growing. As wage and collective bargaining talks have made little progress through the fifth round of main negotiations, some members say their views are not being sufficiently reflected and that the bargaining process is not being shared transparently.
Government efforts to revise the system are also heightening employees' concerns.
At a Kwanhun Forum debate on the 6th, Kim Jung-kwan, Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy, said he opposed profit-linked bonus payments and added that revisions to the Commercial Act and the Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act were being discussed with related ministries. The Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL) also plans to release guidelines this month that will specify the scope of labor-management negotiation items, including bonuses.
Industry observers say the case of the Samsung Electronics supra-enterprise labor union may also be influencing the situation. After expanding its membership to about 76,000 and securing majority-union status, the union demonstrated its bargaining power this year by winning the creation of a special semiconductor performance bonus in wage negotiations.

[email protected] Seo Yoon-kyung Reporter