Bonum Certa Men Certa

Another EPO Staff Demonstration Planned for a Fortnight From Now When Battistelli Wishes to Make the EPO Even Crazier

Summary: More attacks on the basic rights of EPO staff are in the pipeline and provocative comments or spin about these have begun to emerge

THIS week is an important week for the EPO not just because of the spontaneous protest and what inevitably caused it but also because of tomorrow's 'trial' against a judge, whose 'crime' seems to be saying the truth about the EPO. No dissent is tolerated by Battistelli, not even within boards that are in principle independent from his regime. Battistelli already went as far as intimidating lawyers, staff unions, apparently spouses of staff representatives, politicians, delegates, and even yours truly. This man is crazy and his loyal confidants (whom he typically brought with him from France or 'rescued' from criminal charges in Zagreb) inherited a position with little effective oversight and over the past few years removed any oversight that had remained in tact. It's quite a coup!



For those who believe that things are as bad as they can get, believe no more. It can get worse unless Battistelli, who is arrogant enough to totally ignore the Administrative Council and grossly defy their demands, gets canned. Here is what SUEPO says about Battistelli's imminent plans. "The next attacks on staff," SUEPO calls it, listing the proposals below:

On 29 and 30 June the next meeting of the Administrative Council will take place. The Office has prepared 5 (!) documents for decision that concern staff:

- CA/15/16 on self-insurance for health-care costs This reform, if accepted by the Council, will give the President the full, unrestricted power to change the cover and reimbursement conditions of the EPO’s obligatory health care insurance whenever he sees fits, as he sees fit.

- CA/29/16 on post-service employment restrictions This document proposes to give the President full, unrestricted power to decide whether an employee who has left the Office (resigned, retired or dismissed) may during two years take up a given new employment or unpaid activity. The regulations would apply to staff already in place and as well as colleagues who already left. They could seamlessly combine with the obligation for an active employee “to take the necessary steps for terminating ... any employment exercised by his spouse where such employment is in any way connected with the Organisation and proves to be incompatible with that of the employee”, if the President so decides. A financial compensation is foreseen in none of the cases.

- CA/52/16 “standards of conduct” and investigations The proposed regulations would give still wider powers to the Investigative Unit. They would also impose on staff the obligation to denounce their colleagues for any behaviour that is not in line with ill-defined “standards of conduct” or a long list of possible misconducts. Significantly, this obligation does not apply to “documents, deeds, reports, notes or information covered by specific requirements of confidentiality under the legal framework of the Organisation”, i.e. to misconduct by the Investigative Unit or other parts of the administration. Any references to data protection regulations have completely disappeared. We advise staff to read this document.

- CA/53/16 concerns a review of the disciplinary procedures The change of regulation proposed in CA/29/16, if accepted by the Council, will take dismissals for professional incompetence out of the hands of the disciplinary committee and thereby double the time needed to challenge such a decision via an internal appeal rather than directly to ILOAT. It also introduces a “plea bargain” for employees who accept “unreservedly” the accusations against them. This very much smacks of coercion.

- CA/aa/16 concerns the planned reform of DG3 The document contains all the flaws already criticized in a previous version, and more. The document pretends that the proposals will increase the “perception” of independence of DG3, but in fact limits its independence.


The above seems to be 'custom-made' for particular cases and people whom Battistelli wishes to crush. This isn't the first such incident. For instance, recall the retroactive legislation which we mentioned this morning. This smacks of monarchy disguised or 'dressed up' as politics.

SUEPO is not too optimistic about Battistelli getting the sack later this month and it explains why as follows:

What about the resolution of the Council?

In its March meeting the Administrative Council voted for a resolution clearly signalled Mr Battistelli what improvements were expected from him. Mr Battistelli has not just simply ignored the instructions of the Council but did exactly the contrary on several points. We will have to see how the Council delegates, in particular those of the smaller Member States, will react. Will they accept their responsibility for the Organisation and exercise their supervisory role, or will they bow their heads and be beaten – with free „urgent“ medical and dental care (the €«urgency€» to be decided by the President), prestigious jobs in the Council bodies and a generous share of the EPO’s 13 million Euro co-operation budget as a compensation for their hurt pride?

The Central Staff Committee (CSC) sent all the delegates a letter explaining why the above proposals of the President are wrong, and asking them to vote against these proposals. In order to further encourage the delegates to do the right thing we plan another demonstration on the first day of the Council meeting. Further details will be communicated as soon as possible.

Proposed Article 19 of the Service Regulations

(2) A permanent employee or former employee intending to engage in an occupational activity, whether gainful or not, within two years of leaving the service, shall inform the appointing authority thereof. If that activity is related to the work he carried out during the last three years of his service and could lead with to a conflict with the legitimate interests of the Office, the appointing authority may ... either forbid him from undertaking that activity or give its approval subject to any conditions it thinks fit.

(8) The appointing authority may lay down further terms and conditions for the application of this Article to the respective employees; ...

CA/29/16


With or without consent from staff and delegates, the Battistelli regime is treating the Appeal Boards like unwanted fossils, essentially demolishing these boards little by little. Some further attacks on the appeals process, as mentioned last week by a reputable blog, are now officially being confirmed by the EPO (warning: epo.org link), effective only a day or two after the Administrative Council's meeting. There are two new articles today about the EPO Enlarged Board [1, 2] and it is abundantly clear that these boards are needed. To Battistelli, however, these are probably an obstacle or a nuisance to his 'baby', the UPC, and so-called 'production' (quality control is not desirable when one measures the wrong things with the wrong yardstick).

Looking at IP Kat today, we cannot help wondering; Are there so many Battistelli apologists out there or is EPO management perhaps sending people to IP Kat a week after censorship of the whole blog was attempted? There is a sharp rise in provocative comments and responses to these. Some of these try to spin the above changes as perfectly normal and banal, discrediting those who raise concerns and saying stuff such as this (from someone called "Peeps", whom we never encountered before):

If that activity is related to the work he carried out during the last three years of his service and could lead to a conflict with the legitimate interests of the Office, the appointing authority may...

IF AND MAY...

Simple Boolean logic demonstrates the narrowness of application.


The polite response to it was as follows:

"Simple Boolean logic demonstrates the narrowness of application."

Dear Peeps,

Actually, simple legal analysis demonstrates the narrowness of your logic - but you are probably not used to read and interpret legal documents - let me help you out here.

The problem with the passage that you cite actually is with the words "could" and "legitimate interests of the Office".

How do you decide in advance what "could" lead to a conflict of interests with the Office?

And what are these "legitimate interests of the Office", pray tell me?

But most importantly, who decides what could lead to a conflict and what are these interest?

Yes, the President.

And the only recourse you have against that is the ILO (7+ years).

You're welcome.


Not to overuse the term "Internet troll", is it possible that after the censorship of IP Kat backfired and was quickly abandoned there is a change of strategy managed by the PR agency/ies? watch them throwing more insults [1, 2] at each other, which is probably what pro-Battistelli messaging (or Battistelli apologists) would seek to generate. New pseudonyms like "PB" are being used. We never saw these before...

As we shall show later this week, the huge PR budget of the EPO goes a long way. Prepare for trolls. Imagine how far a bunch of fake letters (or AstroTurfing) can go when addressing the Administrative Council's delegates. Lobbying behind the scenes can be a lot worse (i.e. more powerful) than public spin-meisters because there is no room for scrutiny of said claims. Battistelli's EPO is unethical enough to attempt this.

Recent Techrights' Posts

IBM Has Taken Control of GNOME
Don't expect a successor to be found any time soon
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, August 30, 2025
IRC logs for Saturday, August 30, 2025
 
Links 31/08/2025: Baggage Claim Scams, an Insurrectionist’s War on Culture, and a Sudden Robotics Hype
Links for the day
Gemini Links 31/08/2025: Reviewing Netsurf and Slightly Less Historic Ada Design
Links for the day
Links 31/08/2025: Google Gmail Data Breach and LF Puff Pieces for Pay
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
This is What Google News Has Become
Moments ago
The Slopfarm WebProNews Has Turned Google News Into a Laughing Stock Full of Plagiarism by Slop
If Google News dies of neglect, that's one thing. It's starting to seem like active neglect by Google is a form of participation.
Do What is Moral, as What's Legal Isn't Always Moral
Do what's objectively moral, no matter the costs and the risks
Slopwatch: Google News Assisting Plagiarism and Anti-Linux FUD, Serial Slopper Rips Off Linux-Centric Journalists
This makes the Web a much worse place and lessens the incentive to do journalism
Links 30/08/2025: NVIDIA Fakes Results to Hide a Bubble Already in Implosion Phase, Data Breaches Galore, Important Win for Workers' Union in Canada
Links for the day
Representing and Speaking for Animals
If I ever choose to take this matter to tribunal with animals-centric NGOs on my side, it'll get some press coverage for sure
The UEFI 9/11 - Part II - Campaign of Censorship and Defamation Against Critics
In dictatorships, humour serves an important role. It's tragic.
In Kazakhstan, Yandex Estimated to be 20 Times Bigger Than Microsoft
Bing is measured as down this month
Shutterstock Not Enough? The Register MS Uses Slop Images in Articles (Seemingly More and More Over Time)
Cost-saving trajectory amid office shutdown?
Gemini Links 30/08/2025: Games, PostmarketOS, and Slop
Links for the day
Links 30/08/2025: Imgur Uproar and Many Ukraine Updates (Mediazona Reports Over 200,000 Russians Died for Putin)
Links for the day
How Not to Build Software
code forges that need a Web browser perhaps fill some 'niche' demand
GAFAM and "MATA"
The use of dark humour there hopefully helps illuminate what a lot of "modern" technology became like and how it interacts with human civilisation (to what ends and whose gain)
Birds Are Not "Pests and Vermin", Privacy is Not a Crime, and GNU/Linux is Not 'Hacking Platform'
I could not help but think of Free software analogies
The Sites Should Be Very Fast Again
That issue is now resolved
Flying in 2025
worse than ever before
Activists, Including Technical Activists, Need Not Pursue Affirmation
Techrights doesn't play or participate in a "popularity contest"
The UEFI 9/11 - Part III - Chaos is Scheduled to Happen Second Thursday of September (No Matter What the Microsofters Tell You)
The clock is ticking
Downplaying the Impact of "UEFI 9/11" is a Losing Strategy
we won't publish much whilst on holiday
Government Sites Should Run Free Software
Not proprietary bloatware with buzzwords
LLM Slopfarms Take No Breaks
When people run sites by bots they don't need to worry about "breaks"
GNOME Having a Meltdown Again
Thanks and farewell to Steven Deobald
Gemini Links 30/08/2025: Low Tech and Hunchbin 1.0.6
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, August 29, 2025
IRC logs for Friday, August 29, 2025
Financiers and Sponsors of the Slop Hype (Pyramid Scheme Waiting to End, Bubble That Will Inevitably Implode)
It's also burning the planet
Slopwatch: Fake Articles About "Linux", Google Helps Ponzi Schemes and Slopfarms in Google News
Slopfarms are a real pain
Gemini Links 29/08/2025: Retiring at 62 and URL Filtering HTTP(S) Proxy on Qubes OS
Links for the day
Links 29/08/2025: Lisa Cook Sues Convicted Felon and Backdoor Mandate in UK Resisted
Links for the day
Links 29/08/2025: Arti 1.5.0, War on Public Health (CDC), and Slop 'Bros' Made to Pay for Their Mass Plagiarism
Links for the day
No, 4Chan is Not Fighting for You by Lawyering Up Against Ofcom (UK)
Don't mistake proto-fascists for people who "fight for you". They don't.
In Many Places in the World Vista 11 "Market Share" is Going Down, Not Up
In some countries Windows is already down to third place or lower
More Microsoft-Connected Layoffs, at Least Third Time This Month! (Also Another Death on Campus)
Microsoft as a "gaming" company is where studios, projects, games, and even developers come to die
Slopwatch: Fake Articles About "Linux", Slop Images in VentureBeat, Linux Foundation Spam Made With LLM Slop and Slop Images
The only relief or upside - if any exists - is that the pace of slop was down a bit this week
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, August 28, 2025
IRC logs for Thursday, August 28, 2025
Gemini Links 29/08/2025: Poems, Games, and Java 25 Performance
Links for the day