Votes split by union on a tentative wage and collective agreement reached by SK hynix labor and management after two months of talks. The full-time (production) union rejected it by 25 votes, while the technical and office workers' union approved it.
According to the industry on the 25th, in the electronic vote of members on the tentative agreement that the SK hynix full-time union closed at 9 a.m. that day, 7,535 (50.08%) opposed it, 25 more than the 7,510 (49.92%) in favor. Of 16,083 total members, 15,045 voted, for a turnout of 93.81%.
The vote began at 6 a.m. on the 24th. Because the tentative agreement failed to win a majority of voters, the company and the full-time union will return to the bargaining table. The SK hynix full-time union also rejected tentative agreements in member votes in 2023 and 2024 and then resumed talks with management.
By contrast, the technical and office workers' union, which finished voting that afternoon, approved the tentative agreement with 66.2% in favor. While the full-time union did not accept the tentative agreement, support was stronger in the technical and office workers' union, leading to differing results by union.
Earlier, on the 20th, labor and management drew up a tentative agreement that included a 6.3% wage increase and paying 40% of the performance-based excess profit sharing (PS) in cash and the remaining 60% in treasury shares.
Of the PS paid in treasury shares, 40% can be sold in the year of payment, and the remaining 20% will be deferred and paid at 10% each over two years. However, for the 2026 PS to be paid early next year, members may choose to receive in cash the portion of shares that could be sold in the year of payment. As a result, next year's payment can be received in cash for up to 80%.
In the full-time union's vote, the change in the performance bonus payment method was a key issue. It was reported that some members were dissatisfied with shifting part of the cash-centered payment to treasury shares just one year after labor and management agreed to maintain the performance bonus system for 10 years last year.
The technical and office workers' union has around 1,000 members, making it much smaller than the full-time union, and bargaining is conducted separately. Accordingly, separate from the approval by the technical and office workers' union, the company and the full-time union are expected to coordinate the future bargaining schedule and details through additional consultations.