White-collar workers at Airbus Broughton secure union recognition

White-collar workers at Airbus Broughton have secured union recognition in a move which will give them collective bargaining rights for the first time.

Collective bargaining is the process in which workers, through their unions, negotiate contracts with their employers to determine their terms of employment, including pay, benefits, hours, leave, job health and safety policies, ways to balance work and family.

The agreement will cover nearly 2,800 advanced professional and band V employees at Broughton as well as Filton, Gloucestershire and the satellite sites in Brize Norton and London.

The workforce voted in favour of being recognised by Unite by 94 per cent on an 86 per cent turnout, in a voluntary arrangement avoiding the need for a statuary process.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “This is a significant agreement which expands union recognition at Airbus to a group who did not previously benefit from collective bargaining.

“This recognition deal at Airbus demonstrates that there is no part of the economy where workers will not benefit from union recognition.”

Unite national officer for aerospace, Rhys McCarthy, said: “This result is great news and will give well over two thousand managers collective bargaining rights for the first time.

“This agreement did not occur over night and a huge amount of work has been conducted by Unite’s representatives and officers to achieve this result.

“Credit should also be given to Airbus UK for avoiding a legal and protracted process and focusing instead on building good industrial relations.”