The indefinite strike by Airbus workers in Spain gets underway. This Tuesday, employees at the company’s aircraft manufacturing plants organized informational pickets from 5:30 in the morning, and the demonstrations lasted until almost noon without unions and the company reaching a new agreement that satisfies both parties. For now: the workers’ organizations indicate that there are still days left to reach that agreement and put an end to this conflict, while the employees consulted are in favor of continuing the strikes until an agreement that meets their demands is reached.
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Jorge Jurado has been working at Airbus for 17 years and says, at the gates of the plant in Getafe (Madrid), that “the workforce is tired” and that “the movement will continue until they get what they are asking for.” “It’s what we all deserve,” he concludes. Daniel Quijada has also been employed at this company for more than a decade and is more reserved, but demands that “everyone deserves more labor protection to have a better future.” Jurado also asks for “salary improvements and guarantees for the recovery of purchasing power lost in recent years.” Other Airbus employees carried banners throughout the morning with slogans such as “This is our strike,” “Airbus like a rocket and salaries on a scooter,” or “If you want planes, first negotiate conditions.”
At this hour in the afternoon, the meeting of the Interconfederal Mediation and Arbitration Service, SIMA, the body responsible for resolving collective labor conflicts without going to court, is still underway. No information has been released about how the negotiations are progressing. Sources from UGT, one of the three unions calling the strike along with CGT and ÚTIL, have stated that “there are still days left to reach a satisfactory agreement that employees can vote on.” Other non-calling workers’ organizations, such as CC OO, SIPA, and ATP, have also been invited to participate in the meetings.
UGT points out that the turnout for the demonstrations has been “massive” and that “it will continue to be so in the coming days,” although they currently do not have concrete data. Union sources also highlight that “the company can unblock the negotiations by agreeing to the demands.” They also request a “clear document so that employees can properly assess it.” CGT urges Airbus to “present proposals that are serious” so they can be ratified by the workers and invites non-calling unions to “step forward and join the strike,” since “this is not about unions but about people, who ultimately decide.” Both organizations also agree on asking for more specificity regarding deadlines and the amounts of the salary increase.
The salary increase according to the CPI that employee Jurado demanded was one of the measures the company offered workers last Friday, along with “an additional percentage aimed at recovering lost purchasing power” and the restoration of telework conditions (two days). Issues such as vacations, the cafeteria, flexible hours, collective transport, or the Cádiz agreements to regulate workload, among others, remained pending. However, the agreement was not enough for the employees, and they decided to call these strikes that started this Tuesday. Workers at the plants in Getafe (Madrid), San Pablo and Tablada (both in Seville), Illescas (Toledo), and Albacete have supported the strikes. In the case of the company center in Cádiz, the assembly has been postponed to September 1, so the majority decision adopted by the rest will be followed until that date. After Friday’s meeting, a negotiation schedule was also set starting this Tuesday, with daily frequency and the participation of all unions.
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In that same meeting, the company committed to withdrawing the appeal it maintains before the Supreme Court after the Justice ruled in favor of the unions regarding salary supplements for medical leave. The company conditioned the delivery of these on absenteeism rates and promised to return the amounts deducted to the workers in the first possible payroll.
Both workers point out that the company can make more effort due to its “very good” results while the loss of purchasing power of salaries “in recent years has been brutal.” According to the latest published results, corresponding to the first half of 2026, the company increased both its revenues and profits. Specifically, turnover rose by 11.6% to 33.873 billion euros, while profits soared 50.9% compared to the same period in 2025, reaching a net result of 2.179 billion euros.
Airbus has not publicly commented this Monday on the state of the negotiations. Last Friday, after the SIMA meeting, it stated: “Reaching an agreement immediately in the coming days is critical for all of us, for our customers, and for our common project in Spain. After the mediation session at SIMA last Friday, August 21, we maintain our commitment to resume talks in the daily meeting schedule set to turn these proposals into an agreement of common interest.” The company also warned yesterday, when the final rejection of its offer became known and the start of the indefinite strike was confirmed, of the risk of maintaining this situation for a long time, both for production and reputation reasons.
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