Strikes Scotland: School exam disruption feared as trade union announces SQA industrial action timetable

‘Major impact’ predicted on exams across Scotland as 400 staff plan extended action

Industrial action by 400 staff at the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) could have a “major impact” on preparations for pupil exams, it has been claimed.

The Unite trade union announced plans on Thursday to initially hold two 24-hour stoppages on February 23 and 29.

The industrial action, backed in a ballot in November, will also include stopping overtime, an end to weekend working and a ban on accruing time-off in lieu, starting on February 16 and lasting until May 10.

A sign for the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) building in Edinburgh.

Unite said the industrial action will have a "major impact” on the SQA’s ability to prepare for student exams, saying disruption to the external verification process was likely to affect the quality assurance and awarding of qualifications.

The union said there could be disruption to coursework marking for National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher courses.

However, the SQA accused the trade union of "scaremongering”, insisting it had “robust contingency plans” to ensure pupils and students would not be disrupted.

The industrial action is the latest to hit Scotland’s education sector, with schools closing as a result of strikes by teachers and non-teaching staff in the past two years, while colleges and universities have also faced ongoing action over pay.

Unite’s members work in all grades and job roles at the nation’s education qualifications body, including administrators, managers, processors and researchers.

The pay dispute centres on the SQA’s two-year pay offer for 2023 and 2024. Unite said that for most staff, the SQA’s offer equates to a 5.75 per cent uplift in pay in 2023, and 3.15 per cent in 2024.

Sharon Graham, Unite general secretary, said: “Unite’s SQA members are being forced by senior management to take industrial action. The pay offer on the table represents a brutal pay cut and it’s totally unacceptable.”

A SQA spokesperson said: “This is nothing more than scaremongering by Unite. We have robust contingency plans in place and we can reassure learners that there will be no impact on their coursework, exams or grades.

“We made an increased pay offer that fairly recognises the valuable work of our SQA colleagues. It represents a total average increase of 7.43 per cent in year one and a further total average rise of 5.19 per cent in year two, including pay progression.

"It is the best offer possible, which is affordable and within the limits of the Public Sector Pay Strategy.”

Unite also said it has specific concerns about plans to replace SQA with a new body, and the “lack of assurances” over job roles and locations, conditions and pay of the existing SQA workforce.

Education secretary Jenny Gilruth delayed the plans last year, but the Scottish Government is due to table a new Education Bill at Holyrood that will pave the way for the creation of three new bodies to replace the SQA and Education Scotland.

Staffing problems at both organisations have been highlighted by The Scotsman amid ongoing uncertainty over the shake-up, with Education Scotland recently putting restrictions on recruitment to try to balance the books.