Concern has been raised that the delivery of GCSE and A-level exam results could be affected after staff are set to strike later this month.

Staff at exam board AQA are to stage a 72-hour walkout that Unison could affect the delivery of thousands of GCSE and A-level results – however, AQA says that the action will not have any effect on the delivery of grades.

A-Level and GCSE students across East Lancashire are set to open their exam results on August 18 and August 25.

The employees, including those involved in organising the awarding of grades, will walk out for three days from Friday, July 29 to Sunday, July 31, in a dispute over pay.

The action is likely to escalate unless AQA bosses re-open talks, UNISON said today (July 22).

Many of the 180 staff affected claim they are struggling to make ends meet following successive below-inflation pay awards.

Last year they say they were given an increase of 0.6 per cent. This year they’ve been offered 3 per cent, another real term pay cut, with inflation currently 9.4 per cent and predicted to go up even further.

The workers have been warned they could be sacked and rehired on inferior contracts if they don’t accept the offer.

UNISON North West regional organiser, Lizanne Devonport said: “Workers at AQA have been left with no other option. Pay has been falling behind prices for years and 3% isn’t a wage rise, it’s a pay cut with costs spiralling. Things are so bad that staff are fearful they’ll no longer be able to make ends meet."

“Workers only strike as a last resort. They’d rather be doing the job, they’re proud of. They don’t want to disrupt students and know how important exam results are to them.”

“UNISON membership is growing and our message to AQA is clear – improve the offer or face further action.”

An AQA spokesperson said: “Our priority is always to make sure students get the results they deserve on time - and we have robust plans in place to make sure any strike action won’t affect that. It’s a shame that Unison is claiming otherwise, as this is wrong and only serves needlessly to alarm students and teachers. 

“We’re giving our people a pay rise that’s affordable and higher than many organisations, so it’s disappointing that Unison has decided to take strike action. The vast majority of our staff don’t support a strike, as only around 5% of our workforce and well under half of Unison’s own members voted for it. 

"Indeed, nearly nine out of ten of our staff have already opted in to our new pay framework and agreed to the pay rise, including many Unison members, so it’s hard to see what this strike is trying to achieve."