Online 'Gathering' Held Today to Organise Industrial Actions in EPO, Strikes Will be Starting Shortly

posted by Roy Schestowitz on Jan 27, 2026

Over a week ago we saw EPO staff based in The Netherlands organising actions against rogue management. They also shared a calendar of planned actions. Some hours ago they had an online 'meeting', to which they invited staff a priori, as follows:

Online Extraordinary General Meeting on Action Plan

Dear SUEPO members,

Based on the results of the ballot held at the end of 2025, SUEPO TH received the mandate from its active members to prepare an action plan to stop the salary erosion of EPO staff. We have analysed the comments, which show a preference for a combination of Strikes and Work-To-Rule / Go-Slow.

Meanwhile, the first documents on the Salary Adjustment Procedure (SAP) planned for 2027-2032 have been circulated: the Office’s new proposal makes even more cuts to our salaries and pensions than the method currently in place. Since 2020, we have already lost ca. 1% per year compared to national Dutch inflation, and unless we act now, this will continue and potentially even worsen. The long-term impact of such erosion is devastating.

Therefore, in coordination with SUEPO Munich and SUEPO Berlin, SUEPO TH has prepared a Draft Action Plan 2026, which needs to be adopted by SUEPO TH members. We therefore invite you to an online Extraordinary General Meeting to discuss and vote on it Tuesday 27 January at 11.00 hrs [...]

That was about 8 hours ago.

The more extensive or large-scale action will be in Munich. SUEPO Munich has shared the following instructions to members and non-members alike:

Dear SUEPO members,
Dear Colleagues,

Take a look at your January Payslip! It shows a net pay cut of around -1.0%. For the first time in EPO history, an unprecedented +2.2% increase in healthcare and pension contributions is not covered by the +1.2% salary adjustment resulting in a net decrease of salary.

The first three technical meetings (14, 19, and 20 January) of the “Future orientations on the salary adjustment procedure” have revealed the Office's intent to decouple our salaries from civil servants’ parallelism and to fixing adjustments at Eurozone (EZ) inflation ± 0.0% instead of capping at +0.2%.

Simulations for 2014–2025 show that this policy results in a double-digit loss of purchasing power, averaging a -1% decline every year.

Taking Action: The SUEPO Munich Action Plan. We have worked faithfully and efficiently, yet the President continues to erode our salaries and benefits without financial justification (around 700 M€ surplus in 2025). It is time to respond!

- Work-To-Rule: Action continues for all staff. Avoid overtime. Focus on meticulous quality, the thorough application of the EPC. For examiners: The AC delegations are particularly sensitive to the number of patents granted from which they receive a share of the renewal fees. Focus on search, first and intermediate actions.

- General Assembly: Join the Local Staff Committee on Thursday 29 January at 10.30 hrs (LSCMN). The meeting will provide more information on the salary erosion to come.

- Warning Strike: Friday 30 January is our first day of action. Mr Campinos shows uneasiness about strikes as they reduce production capacity and damage his social report. Register your strike participation via MyFips once the Registration tool is open.

- The General Consultative Committee (GCC) meets on Friday. Staff representatives will declare themselves on strike but will still attend in the meeting to make your voices heard.

[...]

There is a longer flyer-like version of the above, with red markings to emphasise what is important: an impending strike.

The opening parts say: (for GemText and text bulletins)

The Office’s Strategy: Managed Salary Erosion: The first three technical meetings (14, 19, and 20 January) of the “Future orientations on the salary adjustment procedure” have revealed the Office's intent to decouple our salaries from civil servants’ parallelism and to fixing adjustments at Eurozone (EZ) inflation ± 0.0% instead of capping at +0.2%. Simulations for 2014–2025 show that this policy results in a double-digit loss of purchasing power, averaging a -1% decline every year.

Worse Provisions Ahead: At the upcoming technical meeting on 28 January, the Office plans to introduce even stricter "limiting mechanisms": (1) The "High Inflation" Clause: Allowing the Council to block adjustments if EZ inflation is deemed "too high". (2) The Three-Year Review: A mechanism to potentially provide even less than EZ inflation in the future.

Here's an overview or an alta vista for ongoing and impending actions:

We'll carry on writing about abuses at the EPO in the meantime, and for months to come. There's a lot more going on, aside from salary erosion (Europe gets plundered for a pyramid scheme). █