SK Hynix's Korean workers launch unified union amid stalled wage talks

On August 13, workers at SK Hynix, a leading memory chipmaker in South Korea, established a unified union to represent employees across different job categories and locations. This move comes amid ongoing wage talks with the company, as SK Hynix reported record quarterly profits due to strong demand for AI infrastructure. Nearly 2,500 workers have joined the new union, which aims to strengthen bargaining power for all SK Hynix employees, including factory workers and technical staff.

The union's immediate goal is to become the majority union by gaining control over collective bargaining, which would grant it greater influence in negotiations with management. Last year, SK Hynix agreed to allocate 10% of its annual operating profit to employee bonuses for 10 years, but this year, the company proposed paying a majority of workers' bonuses in shares instead of cash.

This shift in compensation structure has raised concerns among unions about the potential impact on funds for investment or shareholder returns.

Park Ji-soon, a social security law professor at Korea University's School of Law, stated that the launch of the new union could trigger competition among unions for members. Meanwhile, Kim Yong-jin, a management professor at Sogang University, acknowledged that while workers' concerns over stock compensation are understandable, equity-based bonuses are more common in the United States.