‘Strike-mad’ teacher who hasn’t taught in 14 years . . .
...and we pay her £½m in wages!
A TEACHER who has not taught any pupils for 14 years despite being on full pay is disrupting the education of thousands of children after her suspension provoked a series of strikes.
National Union of Teachers official Julie Davies, 58 – who describes herself bizarrely as a ‘psycho killer’ on social media, was suspended after head teachers accused her of ‘confrontation’, ‘obfuscation’ and encouraging ‘a climate of mistrust’.
In return, she launched a legal case claiming council bosses had no right to suspend her because her employment had wrongly been transferred from a school to the local authority.
After that failed, the NUT branch where she is secretary responded with walkouts at two schools, disrupting classes for around 3,000 pupils, with further strikes planned.
The news comes in a week when Communities Secretary Eric Pickles attacked taxpayer funding for union officials, insisting they should be
‘A climate of mistrust’
paid for by union fees. Mrs Davies, whose Twitter account describes her as a ‘teacher, union rep, psycho killer, obviously’, has not stood in front of a class since 2000, despite continuing to earn £35,000-plus as an English teacher.
She was released from teaching English at Northumberland Park community school in North London to carry out ‘staff representation’ full time, while still picking up her annual pay from the public purse.
She has been paid almost £500,000 despite not doing any teaching.
One parent said: ‘It is completely unacceptable. We are paying this woman to disrupt our children’s schooling and the lives of their hardworking parents.
‘She is using these strikes to pursue her own personal agenda, having been outed by head teachers for the disruptive influence that she is.’ The High Court last month threw out her claim that Haringey Council in North London did not have the power to suspend her.
It heard Mrs Davies was employed as a teacher in 1992. She was elected deputy divisional secretary of the NUT for Haringey in 1997 and released from her teaching duties three days a week for union work.
Her request to be released from her duties full time was granted in 2000, and she has been elected branch secretary every year since.
In July this year, however, the council suspended her as it investigated letters received from local primary and secondary head teachers refusing to fund her union work.
One from secondary heads said: ‘Ms Davies’ preferred approach is one of confrontation and obfuscation. She seeks to encourage a climate of mistrust, often involving the airing of her personal critiques of head teachers, rather than seeking to develop effective communication or relationships based on trust and openness.’
After her court action failed, her NUT branch organised strikes at Highgate Wood and Fortismere schools in North London, where nearly all lessons were cancelled on Thursday. More walkouts are planned at the schools on Wednesday and Thursday next week.
JulieDavies.org.uk, a website supporting the union rep, claims Haringey has ‘behaved disgracefully’, adding: ‘Julie’s suspension is not related to any real disciplinary offences but is actually a device to discredit her and force her out of her job.’
Mrs Davies, who lives in a £500,000 house with her husband David, 65, has previously insisted: ‘I work really hard. My substantive position is English teacher. If I stopped doing this I could return tomorrow.’
Last night, she told the Mail she was forbidden from talking to the Press. Haringey also declined to comment during her disciplinary procedure.