A long-serving humanities teacher at Duston School, Northampton, is facing victimisation and possible dismissal at a disciplinary hearing this week.
Northampton National Union of Teachers (NUT) branch secretary and Duston School NUT Rep, Pat Markey, has been suspended from his teaching post since September 2011.
It is clear that Pat Markey is being victimised because he is a trade union representative who remains opposed to the loss of local democracy and accountability as a result of Duston School attempting to become an academy. Despite making promises that academy status would not affect teachers’ terms and conditions, management chose to end Pat Markey's one day union facilities time even though Duston School has not yet become an academy — and then suspended Pat following a protest outside the school in July 2011, despite the fact that Pat was not present at the protest.
Pat Markey is totally committed to his teaching at Duston School where he has worked for 18 years, and wants nothing more than to get back to teaching his pupils in the classroom. The case is a gross injustice, and further evidence of the anti-union mentality in academy schools, or would-be academy schools. Pat should be reinstated without further delay.
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