08.17.20
Gemini version available ♊︎EPO Should Quit Blaming COVID-19 for Its Demise
Summary: The EPO’s management is happy to exploit the public health crisis to do unreasonable things and even illegal things; at the same time that very same management is blaming that crisis for a crisis of its own making (planned demolition of the Office)
THE European Patent Office (EPO) has not changed targets and quotas. It has not given its staff any more breaks; many work overtime now. And yet, EPO management has the audacity to exploit COVID-19 to cut staff. This is the ‘reward’ staff gets for working until midnight and sometimes past midnight (small hours of the morning) whilst also home-schooling.
“The underlying issue is extremely dishonest and abundantly uncaring management. It only cares about milking the Office for what’s left of it (until the managers kill it).”António Campinos is not working hard. He drinks hard (same fetish as Benoît Battistelli, a Frenchman like him). He’s barely even online, according to a SUEPO publication from June/July. The lazy fat cats who are EPO management aren’t going to the Office and they hardly work from home, either. They give themselves yet more bonuses — during a pandemic no less! — whilst increasing pressure/burden on staff and signing off on plans to cut off salaries, benefits and even staff numbers. In effect making a decision to lay off staff in private (during a pandemic and without any consultation).
Under normal circumstances there would be EPO protests and an uproar. But it’s not possible right now because of the pandemic and they’re totally exploiting it, whilst at the same time blaming what they exploit for their own irrational actions. They want to have it both ways. The underlying issue is extremely dishonest and abundantly uncaring management. It only cares about milking the Office for what’s left of it (until the managers kill it). █
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