EPO Staff Union: "Very High Strike Participation on Friday 30 January", Another Strike Starts 19 Days From Now
SUEPO Munich, the union for EPO staff based in Munich (where the majority of staff is based), is celebrating the thus-far successful industrial actions, which got EPO management in a bit of a panic (we showed documents to that effect last month). This is probably the biggest and most effective form of industrial actions since the Benoît Battistelli days. Will António Campinos be shown the door after 8 years, just like Battistelli?
Quoting this week's publication/message from SUEPO Munich to staff (not just SUEPO members):
INTERNATIONALE GEWERKSCHAFT IM EUROPÄISCHEN PATENTAMT
STAFF UNION OF THE EUROPEAN PATENT OFFICE
UNION SYNDICALE DE L'OFFICE EUROPEEN DES BREVETSOrtssektion München
Local section Munich
Section locale de Munich02 February 2026
su26005mp – 0.2.1/0.2.2Action Plan 2026 to stop the salary erosion of EPO staff
Week of 2 to 6 February: Work-To-Rule continues,
Very high strike participation on Friday 30 January
Dear SUEPO members, dear Colleagues,
Last week was a busy one.
Call for Industrial Actions: SUEPO Munich and The Hague notified the President of the industrial action plan to fight the erosion of our salaries. We are expecting a positive answer to the legitimate request of staff for a salary adjustment procedure compliant with the fundamental principles defined by the Tribunal, and maintaining purchasing power.
Technical Meeting: Wednesday 28 January, the Office presented its proposal to provide lump- sump compensations for years where the salary adjustment would remain below national inflation HICP. However, salary scales will remain unchanged and still result in long-term compounded loss of purchasing power. Lump-sums are no adequate substitute to decent adjustments.
General Assembly: Thursday 29 January, 825 colleagues gathered in the General Assembly of the LSC Munich on the Salary Erosion Procedure. The slides show how the Office intends to decouple our salaries from civil servants’ parallelism and to fix 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.
First Warning Strike: Friday 30 January was the first day of strike. To our information, strike participation was very high and possibility the highest since the start of the presidency of Mr Campinos. Isar and Pschorr buildings were empty. Thank you for your support!
GCC meeting: Friday 30 January, staff representatives declared themselves on strike, wore yellow SUEPO jackets and participated in the meeting. The Chair of the CSC recalled the determination to continue with actions against a salary erosion which has no financial justification.
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 (the 2026 Budget foresees an operating surplus of 643 M€). 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.
- Warning Strike: Monday 23 February is the second warning strike. The day after, the GCC will meet to discuss the “future orientations on the salary adjustment procedure”
It is time to put an end to this policy. Support the SUEPO Munich Action Plan 2026.
SUEPO Munich
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SUEPO Munich Action Plan 2026
Stop the erosion of EPO salaries
Why are they protesting and going on strikes? (Yes, plural)
There are official reasons and unofficial (or less official) reasons that the union or staff representatives need not say out loud (to avoid getting in trouble, those are taboo matters).
"Slides on the erosion of our salaries and pensions" have meanwhile been published and circulated by the Local Staff Committee The Hague (LSCTH), which gave some background this week:
Report on the Staff General Meeting on the new Salary Adjustment ProcedureDear colleagues,
On 26 January, the Local Staff Committee The Hague presented the proposed new Salary Adjustment Procedure (SAP 2027–2032), together with an overview of the consultation between the Administration and Staff Representation and the next steps.
Since 2020, we have already lost ca. 7% in real income compared to Dutch national inflation. The proposed SAP for 2027-2032 would be even more detrimental to staff than the present one. One of the most serious elements is the impact of an adjustment below local inflation on the capped defined benefit of the New Pension Scheme (NPS). If the pace of salary erosion over the past six years continues, the already insufficient NPS monthly pension will steadily move towards the poverty line.
At the same time, all the economic indicators of the EPO are in the green: all pension liabilities are covered, and the EPO, a not-for-profit organisation, has been generating record annual surpluses. The RFPSS currently stands at €14.4bn and the EPOTIF at €5.3bn.
The Administration imposed an incredibly short timeline for consultation and regularly ignores the input of the Central Staff Committee nominees (see here). Your staff representatives need more leverage to protect your salaries, allowances and pensions. To that effect, all staff are invited to participate in the Industrial Actions, starting with a strike on Friday 30 January, ahead of the SAP information sessions between the EPO and the Administrative Council.
Here are all the slides:
It's not just about money. The EPO's staff is fed up, seeing that corrupt officials, whose unlawful policies rob Europe, end up robbing even the ordinary staff of the EPO.
The EPO needs a complete overhaul reboot and its kangaroo courts must go. They created caselaw that's hinged on constitutional violations and widespread corruption. The damage caused may last for generations. █