European Patent Office Management Mocked for Trying to 'Bribe' Staff With a Little Food

posted by Roy Schestowitz on Apr 30, 2026,
updated Apr 30, 2026

Some hours ago the staff union of the European Patent Office, SUEPO TH committee to be precise, circulated the following message about what it considers or frankly sees as a humiliating gesture:

A free croissant to forget about the SAP

The EPO offers free breakfast at the Campus Days while cutting your employment package at the BFC, so stay home in solidarity with your colleagues!

Dear members, dear colleagues,

On May 20^th and 21^st, the AC delegates will meet with the Administration at the Budget and Finance Committee (BFC) and discuss the Salary Adjustment Procedure (SAP). The proposal of the President is set to make significant cuts to all your remuneration elements every year: salary, pension, and allowances.

You have no doubt been invited by your line management to join, or even organise the fun during the Campus Days (May 19^th and 20^th) which happen to overlap with the BFC. Free breakfast and entertaining activities: the program is extensive, and all this to be done on your personal time (see also here). Management encourages colleagues to join the Campus Days and then displays the onsite presence statistics and uses the photos of the event as evidence of staff engagement and contentment.

All the while, the EPO has been “reforming” the Amicale. The 76-year-old staff association in charge of social activities all year round has been “internalised”, i.e. its independence strongly reduced and the administrative hurdles multiplied. During negotiations with the Amicale TH committee in place at the time, the administration showed little willingness to invest in the association, in particular when it came to time budget for non-examiners, in contrast to the budget provided for the management organisers of the Campus days. This led to the 10-person committee, who had more than 100 years of cumulative experience in leading the Amicale TH, to step down en masse. The committee is now in the hands of 3 dedicated members who, despite having little experience have shown remarkable commitment in stepping up during a challenging transition.  At the same time, it is understandable to be concerned about how these recent developments may affect the future of the Amicale TH and the social fabric of the EPO.

All this leads us to the conclusion that the Campus Days are the EPO’s version of an office pizza party: a free breakfast and some entertaining activities to distract us from the cuts in our employment package.

This is why we invite you to join the following collective actions:

• Refrain from joining any Campus Days activities and avoid coming to the Office on those days (19^th and 20^th May), and consider striking;

• Register for strike on the next “anchor day” Monday May 18^th, right before the BFC;

• Intensify the work-to-rule action until after the BFC (May 22^nd), to again collectively reduce sending of grants to give a strong signal to the delegates.

We should not allow the Office to buy our complicity and the image of a happy workforce at the price of a croissant. Please note the guide to production pressure at a time of industrial actions, and do not hesitate to contact us for assistance.

For a workplace worthy of its talent.

Tomorrow we'll show something similar to it (also published today). The Office is having a crisis; a little breakfast treat won't solve it. █

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Image source: Cup and croissant. Digital drawing

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