Micron workers in Taiwan vote to strike after bonus talks collapse
Workers at a Micron Technology plant in Taiwan have voted to strike after talks over bonus reforms collapsed. The union seeks a one-off bonus of 83 months' salary and a permanent profit-sharing system allocating 15 per cent of operating profits to workers.
Hundreds of workers at a Micron Technology plant in Taiwan have voted to strike, their union said on Wednesday, after talks with the US memory chip giant over bonus reforms collapsed.
Global chip companies, including Micron, have been major beneficiaries of soaring demand for artificial intelligence. But as their earnings skyrocket, many workers are demanding a bigger cut of profits.
Micron, which makes around 50-60 per cent of its chips in Taiwan, has been locked in talks over remuneration with two labour unions representing 12,000 of 15,000 workers at its Taoyuan and Taichung plants.
Members of the union in Taoyuan have "obtained the legal right to conduct a strike and establish strike picket lines", union secretary Chen Yen-kai told a news conference. Of the 2,258 eligible union members at the Taoyuan plant, 2,012 cast ballots, with 1,994 voting in favour of strike action and 14 against, Chen said. Four ballots were invalid in the vote held over recent days.
Jerry Lin, head of the Taoyuan union, said the union has yet to set a strike date, but noted that a "surprise strike" could be called via text message to members. In the meantime, he urged Micron to present "a concrete proposal" following its board meeting scheduled for October 8 and 9 (US time) before the union "formally proceeds to a strike".
The Taichung union, which represents around 11,000 workers at the larger plant, told AFP its talks with Micron would continue as scheduled, despite the strike plan in Taoyuan.
The unions are seeking a one-off bonus of 83 months' salary as well as a permanent system that allocates 15 per cent of the company's operating profits to worker bonuses, distributed quarterly rather than annually. "What we want is to establish an open and transparent profit-sharing system," Lin said, rejecting the company's one-off bonus, which he described as leaving employees "at the mercy of management".