01.15.17

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EPO Abuses Come Under Fire From Politicians in Luxembourg

Posted in Europe, Patents at 5:20 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz

Latest among many countries to express concern

Summary: Luxembourg is the latest nation in which concerns about the EPO’s serious abuses are brought up not only by the media but also by politicians

THE EPO is very quiet this month. No “news” or “blog” items have been published since before Christmas.

Around Christmas time the media in Luxembourg published this article, which we mentioned here before. There is not much new information in there (not of great significance anyway) except parts which pertain to political interventions in Luxembourg. Notably, Claudia Dall’Agnol (pictured above) raises concerns and Etienne Schneider acts like a Battistelli mouthpiece, which makes Schneider look rather foolish and gullible. Does anyone out there still believe any word that comes out of Battistelli’s mouth? He’s a chronic, shameless liar. He’s a manipulative politician disguised as a manager.

Here is the English translation from SUEPO [PDF], which we reproduced below in HTML form:

“We’ve got our eye on it”

EUROPEAN PATENT OFFICE

Behind the façade of the European Patent Office (38 countries belong to it, Luxembourg among them) a massive social conflict has broken out.

The battle between the President and the staff union Suepo, which represents the majority of the 7,000 strong workforce, has been raging for more than five years. Minister Etienne Schneider is now providing a reply to the question raised in Parliament on this issue by LSAP deputy Claudia Dall’Agnol.

The management style adopted by President Benoît Battistelli, who took this office in 2010, appears to have led from escalation to escalation. Only recently, staff members took to the streets in their thousands in Munich to march to the consulates. If we are to believe what the union members are saying, Battistelli has been tightening the screws for a long time, to such an extent that the environment at work can sink no lower. In the course of the year, three senior Suepo members have been summarily kicked out. Our information is that the President has produced very flimsy excuses for doing this – some would say totally far-fetched.

Another senior Suepo figure was dismissed without notice at the beginning of November at the branch of the Office at The Hague, and a further member is said to have been subjected to extreme pressure. How, why, when, and who is concerned is not clear from the accusations. Two weeks ago, EPO officials at The Hague were called upon to carry out a protest demonstration at the Dutch branch office. A majority of the 2,800 or so personnel working there took part, and really made their voices heard (► Link).

“Focus of attention”

The Minister responsible, Etienne Schneider, in his reply to the question raised in Parliament by Deputy Claudia Dall’Agnol simply repeated the official version put about by the EPO President. There have allegedly been cases of bullying, but those responsible have been identified and punished. The staff member who was ejected in November at The Hague is said to have been the main person responsible.

But we have received entirely different information, too, which points to the President unleashing a systematic campaign of harassment against many of his staff, but in particular against the personnel representatives who are members of Suepo.. Schneider appears to be equally at ease in his reply,since he goes on to write: “I can give assurance that the Luxembourg delegation continues to pay close attention to the development of the social dialogue at the EPO, and to provide its support to any initiative in that context.”

According to Etienne Schneider, the agenda at the next meeting of the Advisory Board is scheduled to include the results of an internal survey on the issue of social dialogue and working conditions at the branches of the European Patent Office.

As can be seen from the above (last three paragraphs), Battistelli’s apologists seem to be relying on paid-for propaganda from PwC. We previously we wrote about it in the following articles:

SUEPO is very quiet these days, but the same goes for the EPO in general, including the management. This gives us more time to unearth and publish older material whose analysis is well overdue. Expect much more to come out in the coming days. █

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