The latest European Federation of Public Service Unions (EPSU) letter
THERE are now less than a couple of days before the EPO strike and there are broad statements of support, except in the media. It's engaging in what's known as "media blackout", in effect covering for Benoît Battistelli and António Campinos, all this while spreading lies for Team UPC. We'll deal with that later today in a long video. Captured publishers don't want the public to know that examiners are abused and dissatisfied.
"Captured publishers don't want the public to know that examiners are abused and dissatisfied.""The European Federation of Public Service Unions (EPSU) represents more than 265 unions," the staff union of the EPO wrote on Friday. "This week, its General Secretary Jan Willem Goudriaan sent a letter of solidarity to SUEPO, whose members take industrial action on Tuesday 22 March."
To quote the press release: "Members of the SUEPO trade union at the European Patent Office (EPO) have voted for industrial action, including a “work to rule”, “go slow” and a strike on 22 March. The union is calling for the restoration of fundamental rights at the EPO and the suspension or reversal of major reforms that have been detrimental to working conditions and wellbeing of staff. There have been longstanding problems with asserting trade union rights at the EPO with a former director intervening in the trade union’s internal affairs and blocking the right to strike. The International Labour Organisation has ruled in the union’s favour on the exercise of fundamental rights and the union’s action will also seek improvements in relation to careers, pay and training."
There's also this "EPSU Letter of Solidarity", which SUEPO reposted as an image. For HTML, text, and GemText versions we reproduce it below:
To USF and SUEPO
Ref.: JWG/cb Brussels, 18 March 2022
Dear Colleagues
I am sending you solidarity greetings from EPSU for the SUEPO industrial action next Tuesday, 22 March. We have been following the dispute in the EPO over several years now and hope that your latest action will ensure a restoration of fundamental rights and the suspension or reversal of major reforms detrimental to working conditions and staff’s wellbeing.
We note the very high level of support for the action and the fact that SUEPO is determined to get the EPO to address the decisions of the International Labour Organisation that revealed the way in which management and particularly the former president had infringed the fundamental rights of the union.
We also note that in those difficult circumstances, management implemented major reforms that SUEPO says are detrimental to working conditions and staff well-being, including a new salary adjustment procedure that has caused a disastrous loss of employees’ purchasing.
We very much hope that your action is a success and helps secure your key demands on fundamental rights, careers, the salary adjustment scheme and training.
Please keep us informed on developments. The exercise of all fundamental trade union rights across the public services and particularly in international bodies like the EPO need to be strongly protected and a successful outcome for SUEPO will be important news to share with our affiliates.
In solidarity,
Jan Willem Goudriaan EPSU General Secretary