Airbus workers vote to strike over 'poor pay' offer

Union workers voted in favour of industrial strikes over the "poor pay offer" from Airbus

Airbus workers have voted in favour of industrial action in a dispute over a "poor pay" offer.

More than 3,000 aircraft fitters and engineers at sites in Broughton, Flintshire, and Filton, Bristol, were balloted by the union Unite, and 95% of union members voted in favour of strikes on an 80% turnout.

In a statement, Airbus said it was not formally notified of any industrial action, and while it had made a "competitive and fair" pay offer, would be open to further discussions with the union to find a way forward.

The Unite union said it remained committed to trying to avoid industrial action if the company would be prepared to re-negotiate.

Airbus said the pay offer for 2025 totalled an increase of more than 20% over the past three years.

Sue Partridge, Airbus UK country manager, said: "Our revised one year offer to our non-management employees (3.3% with a further 0.3% in January 2026) is in addition to the £2,644 success bonus payment employees received in April."

She said it remained business as usual across operations, adding: "Our priority continues to be supporting our employees and ensuring the long-term success and stability of Airbus commercial aircraft in the UK."

Unite said it would not publicly discuss the pay offer while negotiations continued, but described the offer as being below inflation and a "real-terms pay cut".

Rhys McCarthy, Unite national officer for aerospace, said the vote "shows the depth of anger that our members have over the poor pay offer from Airbus".

"It is not too late to avoid industrial action if they get back around the negotiating table with a new offer that is acceptable to our members," he added.

"Otherwise they will see that anger first-hand on the picket line."

The workers produce aircraft wings for the A320 family, A330, A350 and A400M military transport aircraft - core programmes in Airbus's global operations.

If there is no resolution, strike action could begin in September, with dates to be confirmed.