Workers at SK Hynix, a leading memory chipmaker, have launched a new labor union in South Korea, seeking to bring together employees across different job categories and locations. The launch comes as SK Hynix and its existing unions are in stalled wage talks, following the company’s record quarterly profits on strong demand for AI infrastructure.
Union Goals
Nearly 2,500 SK Hynix workers have joined the new union, which aims to represent employees across the company’s operations, including factory workers, technical staff, and office workers. The union’s immediate goal is to become a majority union by signing up more than half of the company’s workforce, which would give it greater influence in negotiations with management.
The chipmaker last year agreed to allocate 10% of its annual operating profit to employee bonuses in cash, but this year proposed paying a majority of workers’ bonuses in shares rather than cash. This shift towards stock-based bonuses has prompted concerns among workers and unions, who may seek other benefits such as housing loans comparable to those at rival Samsung Electronics.
Original reporting: Appleton, WI News Feed (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
