Airbus workers vote for strike action in pay row

Wings for all the Airbus commercial planes are made in Wales

Workers at Airbus plants in north Wales and Bristol have voted to go on strike in a row over pay.

The union Unite said 3,000 members voted "overwhelmingly" on the walk-out after previously rejecting an "unacceptably low" pay offer.

It said strike action at the Broughton and Filton sites, which make wings for commercial aircraft, could begin in March unless the offer was improved.

Airbus said it was disappointed but was looking to reach a solution.

Unite said workers deserved a suitable rise after pay was frozen in 2020 and members rejected an offer of a 2.5% increase back-dated to 1 January, plus a one-off £400 lump sum payment.

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Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: "This vote makes it abundantly clear that our members are totally dissatisfied with Airbus' unacceptably low pay offer.

"Airbus needs to acknowledge that and table a sensible offer, one that amply reflects rising living costs, before this dispute escalates further.

"The deal simply does not reflect our members' hard work and dedication, nor the sacrifices they have made over the last two years.

"There is no excuse - Airbus can well afford to pay its workers the decent rise they deserve and it should move to do so without delay."

Airbus said strike action would have a damaging impact on the firm's recovery from the coronavirus pandemic after it managed to avoid compulsory redundancies through the first waves.

"We made our pay offer in the context of the pandemic's impact on our business and the wider benefits structure employees receive," the company said.

"We are committed to ongoing dialogue with the trade union to help bring this situation to a successful resolution."

Unite said the ballot had an 84% turnout, of which 94% of members voted for strike action.