Airbus Broughton workers in strike ballot
Airbus workers at Broughton in Flintshire and Filton near Bristol could walk out unless they receive an improved pay offer. Over three thousand aircraft fitters and engineers at the aerospace giant are being balloted from today for industrial action in a dispute over pay.
The workers are members of Unite, who said this follows a series of "unacceptable pay offers". They added that they hoped Airbus will return to the negotiating table and a mutually acceptable agreement can be reached.
The highly skilled workers play a critical role in the production of aircraft wings for the hugely successful A320 family, A330, A350 and A400M military transport aircraft - core programmes in Airbus's global operations.
Airbus said they had made a "competitive and fair pay offer".
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: 'Airbus has posted billions in profit and continues to report record aircraft orders. Workers are still struggling with the cost-of-living crisis and this unacceptable pay offer is simply not good enough. Airbus needs to get back round the negotiating table with an offer our members can accept.'
Unite national officer Rhys McCarthy said: 'There is no justification for denying the workforce — whose skills and dedication drive Airbus' success — a pay rise that reflects both the cost-of-living pressures and inflation.
'Workers are balloting for industrial action as a last resort, due to stalled negotiations. Unite remains fully committed to resolving this dispute through negotiation and stands ready to return to talks with Airbus to secure an agreement which is acceptable to both sides.'
The ballot will run until 24 July. If members vote in favour, strike action could begin in September, with dates to be confirmed.
Sue Partridge, Airbus UK Country Manager, Commercial Aircraft,. said: "We have made a competitive and fair pay offer in 2025. Our revised one year offer to our blue collar 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. This builds on the strong foundations of pay increases that total 20% in the last three years.
"Our priority continues to be supporting our employees and ensuring the long-term success and stability of Airbus Commercial Aircraft in the UK.
"It remains business as usual across our operations."
Airbus said a two year deal of 3.6% followed by 3.1% was accepted by 'white collar' colleagues.
They said their annual pay increases are further complemented by one off bonus payments to employees - with a total of £13,119 of one off payments since 2022. Join the North Wales Live WhatsApp community group where you can get the latest stories delivered straight to your phone
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Evening Standard
6 hours ago
- Evening Standard
Ryanair boss considers increasing staff bonus to tackle excess baggage ‘scourge'
Mr O'Leary said Ryanair would work with Boeing to ensure no tariffs are applied to commercial aircraft, which he said would be bad for the manufacturer's exports to Europe as well as Airbus's sales to the US – as well as the Irish aircraft leasing industry.
Telegraph
2 days ago
- Telegraph
Thousands of Airbus jobs at risk over MoD contract
One of Europe's biggest defence companies has warned that thousands of jobs in Britain would be put at risk if the Government awards a military satellite deal to an American rival. Airbus has privately told the Ministry of Defence that a failure to secure a contract to build the next generation of Skynet 6 satellites could threaten £10bn worth of potential exports. The company is currently trying to secure work from the Japanese government and various Middle Eastern countries. However, this business relies on Airbus's status as a trusted British partner and executives fear that a snub from London would sink the deals. That would in turn cause serious problems for the company's UK space division, multiple people briefed on the situation said. Without the extra work, the future of the company's flagship satellite facilities in Stevenage and Portsmouth – which employ a combined 3,000 people – would be put at risk. They are seen as the jewels in crown of the UK space industry, with Sir Keir Starmer taking German chancellor Friedrich Merz on a tour of the Stevenage site during a visit on Thursday. But at present, the UK division only has enough work to sustain it until the end of this decade. Ben Bridges, chairman of Airbus Defence and Space UK, has also previously warned that Britain's sovereign ability to design and make satellites is critical to its status as a global 'space power'. On Friday, a spokesman for Airbus declined to comment. The MoD is expected to put the latest Skynet contract out to tender as soon as next week, with Airbus and US defence giant Lockheed Martin the only two companies in the running. Airbus has built all of Britain's Skynet satellites to date. The bus-sized devices orbit the Earth from more than 22,000 miles away and provide vital, secure communications used to keep troops connected with bases back in Britain, coordinate missile strikes or transmit targeting data. Airbus is facing a challenge from Lockheed, which has offered to set up a UK satellite manufacturing base. Ministry of Defence insiders say the American giant is also offering advanced capabilities that are not available from Airbus satellites. The decision is gaining urgency as Airbus lobbies for clarity on its future workload. Made in America? At the same time, a debate is raging across Europe over how much to invest in US-made military equipment in future amid concerns about Donald Trump's commitment to the Continent. President Trump has called on Europe to step up and pay for its own security, a push that led to Nato members recently agreeing to increase defence spending to 5pc of GDP by 2035. On Friday, James Cartlidge, Conservative shadow defence secretary, warned that preserving Britain's ability to design and make satellites was essential because of the growing role space was playing in conflicts.
BBC News
3 days ago
- BBC News
Glasgow Airport 48-hour strike called off
A 48-hour strike due to go ahead at Glasgow Airport next week has been called off, a spokesman has 100 workers had been set to take part in the industrial action next Thursday in a dispute over of the Unite union due to walk out had included airside support officers, engineers and Glasgow Airport spokesman said: "We have been informed by Unite that the planned industrial action for 24 to 26 July has been suspended to allow for further dialogue regarding our pay offer of 4%." The industrial action would have fallen during the traditional Glasgow Fair fortnight and the airport's busy summer are the first summer holidays since the airport was bought over by company completed a deal to buy AGS - the owners of Glasgow, Aberdeen and Southampton airports - in January for £ has been contacted for comment.
