Airbus and Spanish unions reach four-year wage deal to halt 35-day strike

Ministerial mediation halts 35-day strike

Airbus management and majority trade union representatives reached a four-year preliminary labor agreement on 4 September 2026 following emergency mediation at the Ministry of Industry and Tourism in Madrid. The nearly two-hour meeting was hosted by Minister Jordi Hereu and included Airbus global Chief Executive Officer Guillaume Faury. The compromise follows a 35-day strike marked by intermittent work stoppages across manufacturing sites in Spain. Airbus had proposed workplace improvements on the prior Friday on condition of ending the walkout, but employees voted on Monday to sustain industrial action. Mediation occurred after the conclusion of a second formal conciliation round before the SIMA mediation service, fulfilling an intervention planned earlier in the week by Secretary of State for Industry Jordi García Brustenga.

It is a magnificent preliminary agreement in which workers win in their wage and labor conditions, while guaranteeing the competitiveness and industrial viability of Airbus Spain.

Four-year salary increase and purchasing power formula

The draft accord establishes a four-year compensation package indexed to real consumer price inflation alongside a total 7.95% purchasing power recovery. Wage increments will take effect in four designated stages: real inflation plus 2% in January 2026, real inflation plus 2% in January 2027, real inflation plus 2% in April 2028, and real inflation plus 1.95% in April 2029. The schedule introduces an April effect adjustment beginning in 2028. For every contract year, the agreement allocates an additional 0.5% for individual salary revisions and 0.5% for career promotions. To offset the deferred timetable, Airbus will distribute a single, non-consolidable gross bonus of €2,000 to eligible staff in October 2026.

Bradford factor resolution and workplace provisions

The negotiations resolved a dispute regarding the Bradford index and temporary disability wage supplements. Airbus agreed to withdraw its formal appeal before the Spanish Supreme Court, permanently eliminating the planned reduction of disability benefits. The company committed to reimbursing all previously withheld disability deductions in October 2026. Both parties agreed to establish a joint technical working committee tasked with designing an updated absenteeism management system. The labor pact also incorporates revisions covering company dining subsidies, internal mobility, and scheduling flexibility supported by remote work options.

Union divisions and upcoming workforce referendum

The preliminary pact was signed by UGT, CCOO, SIPA, and ATP, unions representing more than 80% (and up to 88% by specific metrics) of the Airbus negotiating panel. However, two minority unions that co-organized the 35-day strike, CGT and ÚTIL, were excluded from the final ministerial negotiation chamber. According to CGT representatives, union delegates were directed to separate rooms upon arrival and asked by ministry staff to vacate the building after an hour of waiting. Hereu stated that the session was designed to formalize the pre-agreed terms with supportive factions rather than function as an open assembly. The entire agreement must now be submitted to a binding referendum across the Spanish Airbus workforce for final ratification.

In this meeting those who were in favor of this agreement were convened and, therefore, we are not in an assembly process, but in a meeting to certify a great agreement for the future of Airbus.