SK hynix will begin 2026 wage talks as early as next month. With the company having overhauled its performance bonus system last year, improvements to welfare programs such as the wage hike rate and support for dwellings funds are expected to emerge as key issues in this year's bargaining.
According to the industry on the 31st, labor and management at SK hynix plan to kick off this year's wage negotiations as early as next month. As Samsung Electronics recently wrapped up its wage talks after about five months of bargaining, there is talk that the SK hynix union could present demands referencing Samsung Electronics' agreement.
Labor and management at Samsung Electronics recently agreed to a 6.2% wage increase, the creation of a special management performance bonus program for the DS (semiconductor) institutional sector, and improvements to welfare programs. Samsung Electronics' new dwellings stabilization loan program will be offered to employees without homes and others, with a maximum loan limit of 500 million won. The annual interest rate is 1.5%, and borrowers can choose either a 10-year repayment or a 10-year repayment after a 3-year grace period.
Among SK hynix employees, there is also reportedly strong demand to expand support for dwellings funds. SK hynix currently operates a dwellings funds loan program with a maximum of 100 million won. The annual interest rate is the same at 1.5%, but there is a difference in the loan limit. The repayment method is equal principal repayment over 15 years after a 1-year grace period.
With SK hynix having largely settled key issues through last year's overhaul of the performance bonus system, there is a view that this year's talks are likely to focus on the wage hike rate and improvements to welfare programs.
In last year's wage talks, labor and management at SK hynix agreed to abolish the cap on the excess profit distribution (PS), a performance bonus program funded by 10% of operating profit, and to keep the framework for 10 years. In 2023, the company also revamped the productivity incentive (PI) payment system. It changed the PI—previously paid up to 100% of base salary—to a differentiated scheme of up to 150% depending on the operating margin. PI is a performance bonus paid twice a year, in the first and second halves.
There is speculation that the wage hike rate will be discussed at a level similar to or higher than the Samsung Electronics agreement. With the Samsung Electronics agreement serving as a precedent, there is a view that labor and management at SK hynix could opt for pragmatic bargaining over prolonged confrontation.
At SK hynix, which has adopted a multiple-union structure, the union for technical and office workers under the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) and the union for full-time workers at the Icheon and Cheongju plants affiliated with the Federation of Korean Trade Unions are each expected to enter wage talks.