The labor and management at SK hynix will hold a representatives' bargaining session on the 18th for last-minute talks to conclude this year's wage and collective agreement negotiations. With significant convergence reached on major issues, the method of paying performance bonuses is expected to be a variable for a final deal.
According to the industry on the 18th, labor and management at SK hynix continued marathon talks during the Liberation Day holiday from the 15th to the 17th, following the sixth relay bargaining session on the 12th, and focused on major issues.
The union shared the bargaining status with members the day before, saying, "We still have legal reviews and detailed practical reviews remaining on some ancillary matters, but we have reached substantial convergence on key agenda items," and noted, "We judge that we have passed the ninth-tenths mark of negotiations."
Labor and management will hold a representatives' bargaining session at the Icheon campus on this day to discuss whether to reach a final agreement. In this year's negotiations, the wage increase rate and the method of paying performance bonuses have been core issues.
Previously, labor and management differed over measures such as adjusting wages if losses occur due to deteriorating results, but it is known that they narrowed differences by revising related details during subsequent talks.
The method of paying performance bonuses is also cited as a last-minute sticking point. Labor and management at SK hynix agreed to abolish the cap on the profit-sharing (PS) fund, which is sourced from 10% of last year's operating profit, and to maintain that system for 10 years. Under the plan, 80% of PS is paid in cash in the relevant year and the remaining 20% is deferred and paid over two years.
However, management reportedly proposed partially changing the performance bonus system this year to pay a substantial portion of bonuses in company stock with restrictions on selling for a certain period.
Some employees are concerned that if bonuses are paid in stock, the actual compensation amount could vary with share price fluctuations. There is also pushback against bringing the bonus system, which labor and management agreed on last year, back to the negotiating table after just one year.
Another variable is the launch of an integrated union that encompasses both full-time production workers and technical/office staff, separate from the existing union. The integrated union, launched on the 13th, is on the verge of surpassing 3,000 members.
Even if labor and management produce a tentative agreement at the representatives' session, if it includes paying bonuses in company stock, it will still need members' approval. As a result, attention is focused on the outcome of the representatives' talks that day and the bonus payment method to be included in the tentative agreement.