Strikes due to commence tomorrow (2 September) at UK aerospace manufacturer Airbus have been postponed following an improved pay and pension offer from the employer.
Around 3,000 workers had been scheduled to walk out at Airbus sites in Broughton, north Wales, and Filton, near Bristol, on 2-3 September, 10-11 September, and then for five further days from 15 September, dependent on site-specific shift patterns.
Unite members at both factories will now be balloted for one week from 12 September on whether to accept the new offer.
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Unite national officer for aerospace Rhys McCarthy said: “Following further negotiations with Airbus, Unite has secured an improved offer from the company.
“Our members will now be balloted over that offer. As a gesture of goodwill, all industrial action that was due to take place in September has been postponed.”
Should the offer be rejected by members, industrial action will resume on 23-24 September.
Airbus had made three pay offers when Unite announced 10 days of strikes. The first was a two-year deal of 3.6% followed by 3.15%, and pension enhancements. This was accepted by management colleagues, but non-management rejected it, requesting a revised one-year package.
Airbus then made a one-year offer to non-management employees: 3.3% with a further 0.3% in January 2026. A third offer made last month added a non-consolidated payment of £200 to either of the first two offers.
Details of the new pay offer have not been shared by either side of the dispute.
A spokesperson for Airbus said: “Following constructive discussions, industrial action has been postponed. We are committed to working with the trade union to find a resolution and Unite will now ballot its members on the company’s revised offer.”
Median pay increases, as analysed by Brightmine, have stood at 3% since December, but inflation figures for July 2025 showed the retail prices index (RPI), the inflation measure favoured by unions, increased to 4.8%.
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