Staff at AQA will strike for three days on 29, 30, and 31 July over pay, their union, Unison, has announced. 65 staff from the exam board are expected to walk out, according to AQA.
AQA said that the strikes will not impact results day as it has “robust plans” in place to make sure students receive their results on time. However, Unison said that the strike “could mean delays for students awaiting their GCSE and A-level results.”
This year, GCSE results day is on 25 August, while A Level results day is 18 August.
Why are the AQA strikes happening?
Lizanne Devonport, Union’s regional organiser for the north-west, said that “staff don’t want to let young people down by taking strike action at such a crucial time.”
“They appreciate how much students rely on their grades and want them to succeed. But workers have been left with no alternative after years of what have effectively been wage cuts. They shouldn’t be left to struggle to pay bills that are soaring as the cost-of-living crisis deepens,” Devonport continued.
Unison has said that AQA staff were given a 0.6% pay increase last year, and offered a 3% rise this year. However, AQA says that while 3% was offered for “all staff” this year, the “average pay increase” would be 5.6%.
One AQA worker said: “We don’t want to disadvantage candidates. We value them and want them to succeed. But we have been trying to get a fair deal for months and have not been listened to.”
Another claimed: ““AQA doesn’t care about the well-being of its staff. The strike will hurt me financially but I’m willing to do that because this deal is so poor.”
What has AQA said about the strikes?
A spokesperson for AQA said that the pay rise offered was “affordable and higher then many organisations,” according to the BBC.
He lamented Unison’s claims over results being delayed as a result of the strikes, saying that results will be delivered on time.
“It’s a shame that Unison is claiming otherwise, as this is wrong and only serves needlessly to alarm students and teachers,” the spokesperson said.
But what do students think? One pupil waiting on their GCSE results this August told Freshered:
“For me personally, I don’t have faith in the AQA board as they messed up countless exams. They included a topic that was cut in both physics papers and made errors in others. I am not worried that I will not get my results back straight away but I am disappointed in the lack of the professionalism of the board throughput the process.”
Read more: AQA exam board staff begin strike ahead of August results days