EPO Staff Union: The Strike Actions and Other Industrial Actions "Have Already Delivered Measurable Gains."
The Staff Union of the European Patent Office (SUEPO) in Munich has just issued a statement to staff; many are on strike today, as planned.
The message says:
Dear SUEPO members,
Dear Colleagues,Today’s warning strike (Monday 23 February) and continued participation in industrial action are not symbolic gestures. They are practical tools that have already delivered measurable gains.
Divided, we fall. United, we shift the negotiation in our favour. Now is the time to stand firm, united and solidary.
The longer publication, a one-page 'flyer' of sorts, gives some actual (hard) figures and concrete, measurable things:
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 Munich23 February 2026
su26010mp – 0.2.1Industrial Actions Deliver
Progress Comes From PressureWhat happened until now
Over the past six years, our salaries have been eroded in real terms by -1% per year — a total loss of -6.8% in purchasing power. While the salary adjustment procedure (SAP) has failed to compensate for increases in costs of living, our productivity has increased by +11% in the last three years alone. We have delivered more, with less.In January, we began industrial action: no granting of patents, focusing on searches and intermediate actions. After the first actions and in view of the strike on 30 January, management added in their proposal a yearly cash lump sums to “mitigate” any potential difference with local inflation. These lump sums do not correct the salary scales and are calculated without any compound effect. They are largely insufficient to compensate for local inflation. They show however that management has understood they have an issue of loss of purchasing power with their proposal. Projected over the last six years, these lump sums would amount to approximately €4,000 for a G8(1) employee according to a simulation over the 12-year period 2014-2025. This corresponds to a compensation of around twenty days of strike days..
This did not happen by chance. This happened because staff acted together. Without the pressure created by industrial action and strike participation, management would have had no incentive to improve their proposal. But their current proposal is still far from satisfactory.
Partial compensation is not full compensation. Temporary lump sums do not correct structural loss of purchasing power. If we stop now, we risk giving the impression that peanuts are sufficient to quiet us.
Where we stand
At present, the production counter is -1,560 products below plan. This signals dissatisfaction, but it is not yet strong enough to influence the Administrative Council ahead of its March meeting or the June decision. To achieve a fair outcome that actually at least maintains purchasing power, we must intensify our efforts. This means maintaining and strengthening the industrial action, including now also slowing searches at least until the next Administrative Council end of March, and, if necessary, until the decision is taken in the Administrative Council meeting in June.Participation in the industrial actions and strikes is not a waste of time or money. It is an investment in our future in stopping and restoring what has been steadily eroded over six years. The progress already achieved demonstrates that management responds to strength and clear, united signals.
What next
Today’s warning strike (Monday 23 February) and continued participation in industrial action are not symbolic gestures. They are practical tools that have already delivered measurable gains. The question before us is whether we accept peanuts or continue, together, until we achieve a satisfactory result.Divided, we fall. United, we shift the negotiation in our favour. Now is the time to stand firm, united and solidary.
SUEPO Munich
Maybe tomorrow, like the last time, they will contact the heads of delegations. █