Just 1 in 5 Scots think the Scottish Government has done a good job of handling recent industrial action

As teachers in Scotland prepare for another round of strikes, research by Ipsos (conducted 30th January to 1st February), finds that:

• Scots are fairly negative about how the Scottish Government has handled recent industrial action, with just 22% saying the Scottish Government has done a good job of this.
• More of the public support teachers going on strike (49%) than are opposed (33%).
• Scots are more likely than the public across Britain overall to think that workers do not have enough power. Over half of Scots (53%) say this compared with 38% Britain-wide. 

Views on government handling of strikes

Scots are relatively critical of how government has handled recent industrial action – although they are less negative towards the Scottish Government’s performance than towards the UK Government’s. 

7 in 10 think the UK Government has done a bad job at handling strikes across England and Wales in recent months, with fewer than 1 in 10 saying they have done a good job. 

22% say the Scottish Government has done a good job of handling strikes in Scotland in the last few months, while 50% say it has done a bad job.  

Support for strikes by different professions

The public have different levels of sympathy for different professions going on strike. Scots are most supportive of health workers, with two thirds (66%) saying they would support nurses if they decided to strike (21% would oppose). A similar proportion (65%) say they would support strikes by ambulance drivers and paramedics (22% would oppose), while 57% would support junior doctors if they chose to strike (25% would oppose). 

While public support for teachers striking is not as high as for health workers, more Scots (49%) support teachers in their decision to strike than oppose it (33%). 

The balance of power

Over half of Scots (53%) say that workers have too little power, with just 7% believing workers have too much power, and 32% that they have about the right amount. This is higher than in Britain overall, where 38% of the public say workers have too little power. 

When it comes to trade unions and employers, the public’s views are more mixed. A quarter (24%) believe trade unions have too much power in Scotland today, while 25% say they have too little power and 36% that they have the right amount. A third (32%) say employers have too much power in Scotland today, while 13% say they have too little power and 40% that they have the right amount.

Emily Gray, Managing Director of Ipsos in Scotland, said: 

With Scottish teachers about to embark on a further two days of strikes, our poll shows that more people in Scotland support than oppose this action. Health workers are not currently taking strike action in Scotland, but this data suggests they would have strong public support should this change. The Scottish public is more divided on strike action by other groups – including university and college lecturers. However, they are more likely than people across Britain as a whole to think that workers should have more power in general.

Technical note

• Ipsos interviewed a representative quota sample of 1,087 adults aged 16+ in Scotland. Interviews took place online between 30th January and 1st February 2023. Data has been weighted to the known offline population proportions. Where results do not sum to 100%, this may be due to computer rounding, multiple responses, or the exclusion of “don’t know” categories. All polls are subject to a wide range of potential sources of error.
• Data for Great Britain was taken 13th-16th January 2023, with results available here. Ipsos interviewed a representative quota sample of 1,080 adults aged 18-75 in Great Britain online.