Salary Adjustment Procedure at the EPO Challenged
EARLIER today the staff union of the EPO, or SUEPO for short, contacted staff and said: "SUEPO has provided its members with model appeals against the 2023 salary adjustment. The Appeals Committee recently asked appellants if they would like to volunteer as test appellants. The law firm appointed by SUEPO to handle the litigation will take care of the nomination of test appellants. In our view, it is therefore not necessary for further appellants to volunteer to participate in the test-case procedure."
SUEPO Central sent the following to SUEPO members:
INTERNATIONALE GEWERKSCHAFT IM EUROPÄISCHEN PATENTAMT
STAFF UNION OF THE EUROPEAN PATENT OFFICE
UNION SYNDICALE DE L'OFFICE EUROPEEN DES BREVETSZentraler Vorstand Central Executive Committee Bureau central26 April 2024
su24008cp 0.2.1 – 5.2Appeals against the salary adjustment with effect of 1 January 2023 – test-case procedure
Dear SUEPO members,
In June 2023, SUEPO provided its members with model appeals to challenge the Salary Adjustment Procedure and its implementation for 2023. Many of you have lodged internal appeals on this basis.
Recently, the Appeals Committee sent emails to the appellants in this regard with reference to RI/2023/091-xxx (active staff) and RI/2023/092-xxx (pensioners). They asked the appellants for their views on the suitability of a test-case procedure and whether they wished to volunteer as test appellants. For the sake of procedural efficiency, SUEPO considers a test-case procedure to be appropriate. The law firm entrusted by SUEPO to handle the appeals will inform the Appeals Committee that they are ready to represent the mandators of the already existing groups of test appellants in a test-case procedure.
SUEPO is of the opinion that with the appellants to be nominated by the law firm, there will be sufficient volunteers for the test-case procedure. It is therefore our view that there is no need for further appellants to volunteer to participate in the test-case procedure. Should you still wish to become a test appellant, we kindly ask you to contact your SUEPO Local Bureau.
Your SUEPO Central Bureau
After Benoît Battistelli had crushed the workers via the contracts of the staff, making it easier to discard staff (even for no specified reason), António Campinos took this even further.
This may seem like a matter of money alone. But, as specified (dictated) by the EPC, the EPO must properly compensate staff in order to attract and retain suitably skilled examiners. Otherwise many fake European Patents will be granted. █